By Nkiru Odinkemelu
Medical experts have urged the public and private sector institutions to come together to radicalise the health sector in Nigeria and ensure it is fit for purpose. Patronage of medical facilities locally will free resources used for foreign medical tourism to be ploughed into developing medical infrastructure and manpower in the country.
This was the position of speakers at the Doctors’ Forum, organised by The Bridge Clinic and Pathcare Laboratories in Lagos at the weekend. The programme which focused on “Addressing the Fallout of Medical Tourism in Nigeria” had an experienced panel anchored by Dr Yemi Johnson, Founder/Medical Director, First Cardiology Consultants; and Dr Ebun Bamgboye, Clinical Director, St. Nicholas Hospital. The discussion was moderated by Dr Richardson Ajayi, Managing Director, The Bridge Clinic; with Chief (Dr) Oluyomi Abayomi Finnih, Chief Medical Director, Finnih Medical Centre as the Chairman.
Bamgboye, speaking on “Nephrology and the Success recorded in Renal Transplant in Nigeria,” revealed that Nigerians spend at least $1 billion yearly on medical treatment in various countries of the world. He said: “India is attractive because of its experience in high technology especially in diagnostics and also for the relatively lower cost of treating patients. Nigerians visits India for cancer, spinal cord, plastic and neuro-surgery as well as fertility and transplant tourism.” He identified the problem associated with renal transplant in Africa as manpower, facilities, literacy level, poverty, and lack of access to transplantation centres, lack of dialysis facilities and other infrastructure, quality and safety issues.
According to Johnson, Nigeria needs to upgrade its health infrastructure as a nation and invests in health education and training for its medical professionals. “Patients who go abroad for cardiovascular related diseases such as routine health check, hypertension, heart failure, stroke, arrhythmias, angina, coronary artery disease, vascular heart disease and so on; do so because of the poor infrastructure and non-availability of high-tech equipment, shortage of manpower and medical supplies”. Moreover, he also noted that registration of products was cumbersome and expensive and government policies were confusing and oftentimes counter-productive. “Medical tourism started with patients from the developed world seeking high quality, less expensive medical care in less developed countries.”
Ajayi declared that for Nigeria’s healthcare to be fit for purpose, more needs to be done in the areas of implementing quality management systems, patients’ satisfaction surveys, effective consequence management and patient reported objective measures. He said that Nigeria would only thrive when the right personnel were put in place to run the health care system and that a lot needed to be done to improve the health structures and institutions, especially in the area of standards and quality.
During the interactive session, many speakers emphasized the need for adequate budgetary provision for healthcare. They also spoke about increasing the availability of funds with low interest rates for private practitioners to enable them easily source for latest medical equipment for diagnosis and treatment.
There was a general consensus that Medical Centres of Excellence is the future of healthcare in Nigeria, and can at best be achieved within the private sector or in partnership with the Government. These Centres of Excellence will also provide adequate capability development and exposure to cutting edge innovations, procedures and technologies for medical professionals.
Finnih, while expressing gratitude to all stakeholders who have contributed to the breakthrough in the medical sector, commended private entrepreneurs who provide technical support with well trained and qualified medical personnel. While rounding up the programme, Professor Ibironke Akinsete, Chairman, Pathcare Laboratories, said that the medical experts are well equipped to address the problem, adding that “we can come up with technical support to make health care in Nigeria fit for purpose.”
The Forum brings together experts in the medical profession, both within and outside the country, to share experiences, discuss modern advances in medical science and proffer solutions to Nigeria’s healthcare system. The Doctors’ Forum is organised by Pathcare Laboratories, the only internationally ISO 15189 accredited pathology laboratory in Nigeria, in collaboration with The Bridge Clinic fertility centre.