Kano Shuts 35 Private Health Facilities

The Kano State Private Health Institutions Management Agency (PHIMA) has shut down more than 35 private health facilities over regulatory violations in the past 12 months, as the state intensifies efforts to enforce healthcare standards and protect residents from unsafe medical practices.

The Acting Director-General of PHIMA, Hajiya Khadijah Sa’id, disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Kano on Tuesday.

Sa’id, who also serves as the agency’s Director of Administration and General Services, said more than 100 facilities had faced sanctions for various infractions uncovered during routine inspections.

She identified operating without a valid licence, failing to renew annual registration and employing unqualified personnel as some of the major violations recorded by the agency.

“We sanctioned over 100 facilities for one mistake or the other. But those that committed gross violations that we cannot overlook, we shut down over 35,” she said.

According to her, the enforcement measures were designed to ensure that private healthcare providers complied with established regulations and maintained appropriate professional standards.

She explained that some facilities were temporarily closed to give their operators an opportunity to correct identified deficiencies before resuming operations.

However, facilities found responsible for serious violations could be permanently delisted, with their proprietors barred from registering another facility using their professional licences.

“Once a facility is delisted, it will not be registered again. The person holding the professional licence will also not be allowed to register another facility,” Sa’id said.

PHIMA Expands Regulatory Oversight

The acting director-general said PHIMA’s regulatory responsibilities covered a broad range of private health and wellness establishments across Kano State.

These include private hospitals, clinics, nursing and maternity homes, diagnostic laboratories, dental centres, beauty salons, spas, fitness centres, as well as practitioners of traditional, complementary and alternative medicine.

She said the agency was strengthening its monitoring and inspection activities to identify operators who failed to comply with licensing requirements and professional standards.

Sa’id added that PHIMA worked with other government agencies and security operatives to identify and shut down illegal healthcare facilities operating across the state.

According to her, an inter-agency task force established by Governor Abba Yusuf recently discovered a clinic that PHIMA had previously sealed and delisted but which subsequently resumed operations at another location.

The incident, she said, highlighted the challenges regulators face in preventing sanctioned operators from continuing their activities outside approved premises.

The agency is therefore increasing routine inspections to improve compliance and ensure that private healthcare providers operate within the law.

Sa’id said the inspection drive covered Kano State’s 44 local government areas, making effective monitoring and enforcement important to maintaining standards across the state.

Unlicensed Facilities Raise Patient Safety Concerns

The crackdown places renewed emphasis on the importance of regulatory oversight in the private healthcare sector, where patients depend on properly licensed facilities and qualified personnel for medical services.

Operating without a licence or employing unqualified staff can expose patients to unsafe practices and undermine confidence in healthcare delivery. Failure to maintain valid registration can also make it more difficult for regulators to monitor facilities and hold operators accountable.

PHIMA’s actions signal a tougher approach to enforcing compliance, particularly against facilities whose violations are considered too serious to be resolved through corrective measures alone.

The agency’s authority to delist facilities and restrict proprietors from registering new establishments using their professional licences is also intended to discourage repeat violations.

However, effective enforcement will depend on the agency’s ability to sustain inspections, identify facilities operating illegally and ensure that operators comply with closure orders.

Sa’id acknowledged that additional funding and operational vehicles would help PHIMA expand its inspection coverage and strengthen enforcement throughout the state.

She said improved resources would enable the agency to carry out its regulatory responsibilities more effectively across the 44 local government areas.

Agency Urges Operators to Comply

The acting director-general urged private healthcare operators to obtain the required licences, renew their registrations promptly and ensure that only qualified personnel provide healthcare services.

She stressed the importance of compliance with regulatory requirements, warning that operators who disregard established standards could face sanctions, including closure and permanent delisting.

The agency’s enforcement efforts will remain important to ensuring that private health facilities meet the standards required to protect patients and maintain public confidence in healthcare services.

Sustained monitoring, adequate operational resources and cooperation among regulatory agencies could help Kano strengthen oversight of private healthcare providers and reduce the risks associated with illegal or poorly regulated facilities.

For residents, consistent enforcement could improve accountability across the private health sector, while operators have been reminded that compliance with licensing and professional requirements is essential to maintaining their businesses.