BY IDAHOSA MUSA
BENIN CITY – The University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH) has become Nigeria’s first accredited National Skills Qualification (NSQ) training provider for Geriatric Social Care under the NSCC-NBTE/UNESCO Centre of Excellence framework.
This was disclosed by the Director-General of the National Senior Citizens Centre (NSCC), Dr Emem Omokaro, during a visit to UBTH’s Chief Medical Director, Prof. Darlington Obaseki, in Benin City on Tuesday ahead of the accreditation.
Dr Omokaro stated that beyond the accreditation, the National Assembly was considering a bill to establish a regulatory framework for geriatric care in Nigeria.
“The regulations will provide a legislative foundation and compel compliance with a national framework and standards for Geriatric Social Care.
This is an initiative of the National Senior Citizens Centre in partnership with the National Board for Technical Education and Skills Nigeria Limited,” she said.
She further explained that the geriatric social care system in Nigeria had now been streamlined and formalised under a standardised national framework, making it an integral part of the Federal Government’s Public Service work scheme.
In his remarks, Prof. Obaseki commended the NSCC’s collaboration with the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) in formalising the sector and called on hospitals to prioritise older persons while building workforce capacity in geriatric care. “Geriatric Social Care goes beyond clinical services. It requires deliberate care and specialised facilities for older persons,” he said.
UBTH pursued the accreditation after successfully training and certifying Quality Assurance Assessors (QAA) in geriatric care.
The newly accredited training centre is housed at the hospital’s Institute of Health Sciences and Technology (IHT).
