When he was alerted by old friends about the interview of Dr Ola Orekunrin who claimed to have founded the first air ambulance service in West Africa – The flying doctors, Dr. Taiwo Malumi, a veteran medical practitioner told them that the woman is bereft of history. If not, she would have known that she was merely eight years old when the first air ambulance service in West Africa berthed in the country, courtesy of Dr Malumi. Dr Malumi established Medic Air, first air ambulance in Nigeria in 1994 after successfully turning a four-bed space hospital to 60-bed space.
His Funtai Hospital and Maternity Homes in Port-Harcourt, River State capital, was a household name. With best equipment that met international standard, the hospital had on its pay roll expatriate medical practitioners who attended to patients while Dr Malumi was left to handle special cases. His knowledge of the profession was acknowledged by top government functionaries and captains of industry. Top people from the Eastern states made him their physician.
”I almost turned into a wizard in the profession; once a patient entered my office, I can diagnose such patient without taking him through the machine but to be 100 percent sure, I will ensure such patient went through the machine. I consulted for Shell Petroleum and other top companies and used the proceeds to expand my hospital from four-bed spaces to 60,” he said.
According to him, the idea of the air ambulance project was conceived when the day-to-day affairs of meeting with patients had been left for his junior doctors.”I thought of what I could venture in that would be of immense benefit to the people in the medical line; then, the issue of air ambulance cropped in.
”Nigerian first air ambulance started in 1994 and it was pioneered by me and a couple of others and the air ambulance was called Medic Air West Africa. We were encouraged to start it having attained the height in medical practice, I felt we had to do something higher for the medical practice in Nigeria. And that was how I brought in Area Jet and a South African pilot, and I trained my nurses in South Africa.
Interestingly one of those nurses today is now a medical doctor. We have a very interesting, highly professional and international connection,” he said.And why were the nurses trained in South Africa, the Ilaje-born doctor replied that South Africans have a precedent in that line of business.”
“They have Air Helicopter Ambulance, so instead of sending them to Europe, South Africa is closer and cheaper. We sent five to six nurses for training and we also had four pilots, not because there were no pilots in Nigeria, but because that was a critical flight that required people who have been used to handle Area Jet. Most of the Nigerian pilots were pilots of commercial airlines not the private ambulance like Area Jet.
“The Area Jet as you can see is not a big air craft, it can serve a dual purpose. When you don’t have air ambulance kits, you can put the back seat up and convert it to accommodate between six and 12 people. Apart from that, it requires an experienced pilot who can operate the flight during emergency session, especially when a patient is in a critical condition. If you don’t have someone that is used to it, it can affect your own operation too, that is why I had to bring in expertise outside of the country,” he said. According to him, the challenges were not out of what they could handle.
He said: “As soon as we announced our presence, it was obvious that we were needed. Although financially, it was tasking, it wasn’t easy but anyway God supported us and we had it on ground, we had the licenses and Port- Harcourt was our base. Within two months we started, we had so many flights. We had so many patients taken abroad and within that two months we travelled everyday. And it was very interesting in medical practice when you see somebody that is almost dead but God revived him through our efforts. That was the joy derived from such exercise.”
Medic Air then had a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), with some medical centres in South Africa because of what Dr Malumi described as relative cheap cost compared to hospitals in Europe.
This, he said, made the middle class to afford the service.Apart from this, Medic Air had a scheme which allowed their clientele to pay certain amount every six months to foot their bill. One of the breakthroughs the company had was when SOS from Geneva sent delegates to assess their services.”When they came to Nigeria and we were discussing on how we operate; an emergency case occurred and SOS representatives asked if we could handle it. We did it successfully and that made them sign an agreement with us.
“It was a big boost to our operations. Likewise, during FIFA Junior World Cup in Nigeria, one of the senior FIFA executives was treated in our aircraft,” he said.”What is interesting is when I remember the level we attained then- our level of professionalism, its gives me joy as we moved critical patients without visa. I could call the British Ambassador that we are flying a particular patient and all they would ask from me is detail.
“I was trusted to that level and landing over there, with our contact, an ambulance is waiting. The visa has been given on air. Though, the accomplishment wasn’t an easy thing to achieve but because they saw the professionalism in our operation,” he said.
According to him, the challenge of running such service was very high. His words: “There was no moment as the chairman that I will have rest of mind once a patient is in the air. It was usually a very tense period; once there is a patient flying, you will actually look ill like the patient because nobody wants a patient to die in the aircraft no matter how critical it was.
“I was always on my toes; so it is good for a younger person to run such service now except you have an institution properly set up.” Dr Malumi said he closed the business due to some life-threatening challenges when his company flew out a dying patient.”Our lives were at risk then; we had to abandon the service and leave the country,” he said.
Since the country returned to democratic rule, the University of Ibadan graduate told The Nation how his efforts to bring back the service were thwarted by unfavourable conditions by the regulating agency.
”About two years ago, I went and asked suppose I want to bring back this business into Nigeria.
He gave me a list of conditions and those conditions discouraged me. It’s unfortunate that we don’t have the enabling environment to run the service. Part of the conditions is to deposit about N20million. People need to understand what you are trying to do, to promote the health sector and health is wealth. If wavers can be given, I am prepared to bring back the service,” he lamented.
He urged Nigerian leaders to invest in building special medical centres that are of international standard. To him, the nation is not lacking personnel to man such institutions. ”It is unfortunate the way we find our country; I remember when Gen Ibrahim Babangida came in, he described our hospitals in one language. When Gen Sani Abacha came in, he also described the hospitals in the same language. Up till today, those hospitals have not changed. For example, look at Nelson Mandela who has been taken to hospital about three or four times now, he has not been taken out of south Africa, because they have the facilities.
”Nigeria has produced the best doctors worldwide; if you go to the United States, and Europe the best brains are Nigerians. I have seen Nigerians being taken from here to Canada for treatment and interestingly the doctor attending to them will be a Nigerian. Why can’t we encourage them to come home, provide the standard, the equipment, and the enabling environment and this country will progress,” he said.
