The Nation Newspaper

Tag: medical

  • Navy, corps member take medical rhapsody to Bayelsa community, IDPs

    Gwegwe community and the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camping at the Samson Siasia Stadium, Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, were recently given a reason to smile.

    The Central Naval Command (CNC) of the Nigerian Navy and a corps member, Dr. IniAbasi Bassey, who discharges her primary assignment at the Joint Task Force (JTF), Operation Delta Safe (ODS), visited them at separate occasions with lots of care and love.

    While the Navy headed for Gwegwe, the corps member went to the IDP’s camp. In fact the residents of Gwegwe in Ovom, Yenagoa, were surprised at the medical mission of the navy.

    The Flag Officer Commanding CNC, Rear Admiral Mohammed Garba, personally led the medical mission to the community. To show the importance he attached to the health of his host, Garba brought most of the senior officers in his command including the Chief of Staff of the command, Rear Admiral Akinjide Akinrinade to the community.

    Residents felt honoured by the presence of Garba, whose achievements within a short period he took over the command in an era of militancy, resounded in their ears. The navy brought cartons of drugs and mobilised qualified doctors to the community to identify and treat common sicknesses.

    The Paramount Ruler of Ovom, HRH Mathias Obele was excited at the gesture of the navy. He immediately sent words round Gwegwe community asking the residents to turn out en masse to benefit from military generosity. Obele also invited members of his council of Chiefs to receive Garba and his team.

    Within a short time, Garba arrived and headed straight for the humble palace of the Ijaw king. The Chiefs and their king were happy to behold Obele identifying with them. The Naval boss told them that the programme was borne out of the desire of the military to tackle health problems plaguing its host communities.

    He said the CNC has been visiting communities within its Area of Responsibility (AoR) for medical missions. He named some of the communities that had benefited from the gesture and said the Chief of Naval Staff (CNS) was in support of the programme.

    He said through the programme, the navy gets closer to and establishes links with the people for effective resolution of common security problems. He said the programme was part of strategic directive to work with local communities and stakeholders to achieve government’s collective mandate.

    Garba had another message for them. He said: “Nigeria belongs to Nigerians. We are part and parcel of the society. We are all Nigerians and Nigeria belongs to Nigerians. We must make sure we protect this country.

    “This is one of the ways to reduce tension by reaching out to people. It is easy to solve problem when you reach out to people.”

    Garba later told residents who gathered to benefit from the medical outreach that the military especially the Navy cared for the people of the region. He appealed to them not to view every naval personnel as hostile and bloodthirsty describing the Navy as caring and humane.

    Indeed, the Ijaw king and his council of chiefs were elated. Obele, playing the Oliver Twist, also asked the navy to consider employing some of the indigenes of Ovom. He reminded the navy that one of their bases, NNS SOROH, is located within the community.

    For the IDPs, the intervention of the youth corps member, Dr. Bassey was a big relief. Their condition was pathetic as they suffered various ailments without money to buy required drugs. The IDPs were mostly victims of the violence that marred the last governorship election in the state.

    So, when they saw Bassey with cartons of drugs and mosquito nets, they leaped up in joy. They sang, danced and described the young lady as God-sent. Bassey said she was moved by pity after she visited the camp and saw the terrible living condition of the IDPs.

    She said: “When I was told there are IDPs here, I went to visit them. The children were malnourished and the general standard of living there was very poor. So, I was moved to help them by doing something about their health because health is wealth.”

    “It is my personal community development service. I donated some drugs and relief items to them. You can see that the people came out in their numbers and we had a health talk.

    “I donated drugs for malaria treatment because of the pandemic nature of malaria. I gave them analgesic, antibiotics and supplements. In fact, I have given them lots of drugs. I gave them over 100 mosquito-treated nets”.

    The corps member, who hails from Akwa Ibom State said she solicited funds from people to undertake the project. She said with more assistance she would do more to help in solving some problems in the state.

    Bassey said she was already working on another community development service following some pressing needs she identified in one of the community schools in Yenagoa.

    In fact, most of the IDPs thanked the corps member for her intervention describing her as a problem solver.

     

     

  • Army renders free medical service

    •’Operation Crocodile Smile’ moves to Rivers

    The troops of 2 Brigade, 82 Division, yesterday touched the lives of over 500 people at Bille in Degema Local Government of Rivers State, with free medical outreach.

    The service featured consultation, diagnosis, eye care, blood pressure checks, free drugs, blood tests and counselling.

    It was part of the field exercise code-named ‘Crocodile Smile’.

    While creating awareness in the communities on the impending military training, the army urged the residents to go about their businesses, saying it was aimed at exercising the troops in the Niger Delta in amphibious operations.

    Acting Army spokesman Col. Sani Usman told The Nation that the troops also conducted a show of force in Port Harcourt.

  • ‘Constitute board to check medical negligence’

    The Federal Government has been  urged to constitute the governing board of the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN) to address medical negligence.

    A Professor of Public Health, Oladele Kale, made this call at the weekend at  the annual faculty lecture organised by Faculty of Public Health, National Postgraduate Medical College of Nigeria, with the theme:” Medicine, Law and The Bolam Test”.

    He said: “The Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria is a regulatory body that regulates the practice of medicine and dentistry in the country, and if it is not formed there cannot be any activity. If doctors falls foul of the law on me now, there is nobody I can report to because the board is not there.

    “There are many cases of medical negligence that have not been visited by the council because the board has not been constituted. Most times the doctors can find excuses for what they did. For instance, the man that claimed to have discovered cure for HIV, Abalaka’s case is still there pending, and many more.”

    A medical-legal consultant, who was the guest lecturer at the event, Prof Paul Osuhor, said the Bolam test has made it difficult for plaintiffs to successfully make claim against a defendant doctor in cases of medical negligence.

    He added that the success rate by patient is under 40 per cent compared with a much higher percentage in non-medical cases.

  • Ikorodu Utd undergo medical check-up

    Players and officials of Ikorodu United went for a medical check-up in Lagos on Sunday morning.

    The Oga Boys cheated death last Friday when the commercial luxury bus they were travelling in was involved in a fatal accident that claimed several lives.

    The team returned back to Lagos on Saturday evening following the postponement of their Match Day 23 of the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) clash against Lobi Stars by the League Management Company (LMC).

    The club’s Media Manager, Babatunde Ayoola told SportingLife yesterday that the team visited the club’s hospital in Ikorodu to ascertain the level of the injuries sustained by  the players and staff.

    “Everybody was at the club’s hospital this morning for check-up to ensure that the players and staff are okay after the accident. But I can tell you that everybody is okay. Our match against Lobi Stars has been postponed and no date has been communicated to us yet,”he said.

  • Free medical services for 500 in Kwara

    Free medical services for 500 in Kwara

    Five hundred persons in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital, have benefited from the free medical services sponsored by two non-governmental organisations (NGOs) – The Muslim Congress (TMC) and Human Concern Foundation International.

    The NGOs will sensitise the people concerning some illnesses they are ignorant of.

    The programme was aimed at alleviating some of the problems and medical needs of the people, as there were array of medical personnel on ground to attend to the need of the beneficiaries.

    A member of TMC and Consultant Neurologist, Ladoke Akintola University Teaching Hospital, Ogbomoso, Dr Ismail Hussein told THE NATION during the one day ‘medical caravan in Ilorin that “right now we have about 16 doctors consulting. Some of them are already specialists in their own right.

    “What we have on ground as medication can take care of over 2000 beneficiaries who come here. However, as I am speaking with you we have above 500 registered beneficiaries. The other reason that informed this is the fact that despite the awareness of some people as regards illnesses people still don’t regard them as medical problems.”

    He said: “This gathering is one of the many programmes of the TMC national. This is a free medical service that we usually organize as part of the programme and regarding this we have seen that the awareness in our people concerning illnesses is still low.

    Aside from that, we have also found out that people lack the necessary funds to take care of their medical expenses.

    “We want to believe that not because some of them are not aware but for financial wherewithal to saddle some of these responsibilities. This is just the little contributions we felt we could make in assisting the people.

    “Worldwide and as we have noticed here today, most of the adults have high blood level. Even some of those on medication have not been complying, so we need to do something about it. We have given some medication and advised a lot of them to go for further checks at the general hospitals and teaching hospitals that we have around.

    “Some have been given referral letters to hospitals to continue their management. Diabetics, high blood pressure and chest pains are prevalent here. We also have people with asthma and some people with surgical disorder. We are attending to them with the expertise we have on ground.

    “I advise that we should not wait until we are down with diseases before we go for medical checks. Every six month an average adult should have his blood pressure, weight, blood level and nutritional status checked. All these things will serve as preventive measures against all illnesses.”

    Leader of HCFI Subir Kolawole Daud said that the organization is set up to assist people in terms of need most especially on medical ground.

    “The Muslim Congress (TMC) is partnering with HCFI to assist the organization with medical needs. We are here to render our medical services. The services we are rendering does not attract a penny. It is free of charge. We have various medical personnel attending to the medical concern of the people. The tests we have carried out are that of hypertension, blood test, sugar test and eye examination.

    “I pray that we should have more of these bodies springing up rendering assistance to the people as government alone cannot shoulder the responsibility,” he said.

     

     

     

     

  • Health minister vows to curb medical tourism

    Minister of Health Prof. Isaac Adewole has said his administration has initiated a new directive in the health sector to guard against medical tourism.

    He spoke at the Lagos State University (LASU) Alumni Association’s night of excellence at the Lagos Sheraton Hotel and Towers, Ikeja.

    Prof. Adewole said: “We want to change the rules. We want to stop people going out for things that can be done in this country.  If you are going to use your personal resources, we cannot stop you. But if you are going to use Nigerians’ money, then we need to determine how that money is spent and we do not want to look outside for things that can be done here.

    “Before we pay for it, we want to be sure it cannot be done in Nigeria. That is why we will sanction any doctor in the public hospital who refers a case that can be treated inside this country, out of the country.”

    The minister said his office would invest in research in  hypertension and other cases that involve dialysis, as well as partner public and private health sectors to achieve the agenda of the President Muhammadu Buhari administration.

    “Our health agenda is to implement universal health coverage using primary health care as the base of the pyramid of our health system. We shall also support the tertiary health facility and encourage them to showcase their expertise in areas of medical sub-specialisations. We will revitalise 14 of them (tertiary institutions) in the next two years. We are going through a process of external review to deliver health to 100 million Nigerians,” he said.

  • Seven years to study medicine, says NUC

    Seven years to study medicine, says NUC

    Medical students are required to do seven years in the universities and not 11 as erroneously reported in some news media recently.
    The National Universities Commission (NUC), made the clarification during interview with News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos on Monday.
    The Director, Quality Assurance of the commission, Professor  Chiedu Mafiana, told NAN on telephone that every student in Medical science must have a first degree in anatomy, physiology and medical biochemistry.
    “Another basic requisite is that there must be clinical skill laboratory, whereby in teaching, students would use mannequins, dolls, to simulate diseases.
    “The students will then use the mannequins to practice, rather than using human beings.
    “This will also assist the students to mature psychologically for the profession’’, Mafiana added.
    NAN recalls some newspapers had quoted Executive Secretary of NUC, Prof Julius Okojie, as saying student wishing to study medicine would henceforth spend 11 years in the university.
    Okojie reportedly made the remark at the maiden matriculation and inauguration of the University of Medical Science, Ondo, in Ondo

  • Eleven-year medical degree misadventure

    SIR: At the matriculation and inauguration of the University of Medical Science, Ondo, it was reported that the Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission, Professor Okojie stated that “… students to spend four years studying basic sciences after which they would proceed to medical school to spend another seven years.”

    One error in this policy is that in the present medical curriculum, medical students spend three years in RELEVANT basic sciences before the clinical studies.  One year at 100 level for pure sciences, two years of relevant sciences namely: Anatomy, Physiology, Biochemistry, and in some cases, also Pharmacology. If the candidate entered by Direct Entry and did Higher School Certificate, he/she spends two years of Physics, Chemistry Zoology and Botany (or Biology) at advanced level before entering the university for the initial two years of Anatomy, Physiology, Biochemistry and Pharmacology before proceeding to study clinical work.

    It is superfluous to study science subjects to make him a rocket or space scientist.

    Also, from the address one can infer that one of the reasons adduced for this was “…in order to enable the student to mature psychologically for the profession.”

    The youngest age one enters the university for any course of study is 18 years.  If one spends seven years studying Medicine, one will graduate at the age of 25 years.  Is a 25-year-old boy or girl not “psychologically mature”?  Don’t some countries have Head of States at around that age?  Even if we have a precocious student that enters the university at the age of 16, (which is not very common) he/she will graduate at the age of 23 years.  Is this not mature enough?  Don’t people marry successfully at the age of 23?  If one is not mature enough at this age one can never mature even if one is as old as Methuselah!

    I think the reason behind all these beating around the bush and groping in the darkness is because we are looking for a way of improving on our health delivery system which is sub-standard when compared with other countries.  I agree totally with this assertion, but not with the solution proffered.  If not, why are Nigerians going to India and Germany etc for medical treatment?  Yet we have professors in Nigeria in every medical discipline?

    If we can go back memory lane, some years ago, the late Professor Adeoye Lambo suggested that the years of study of medicine in the universities should be reduced to four years instead of what we have at present.  The basic fact is that the number of years a candidate spends in the medical school does not necessarily make one a good doctor.  The medical curriculum as designed at present produces the best and optimum requirement for producing good doctors.  One year at the university 100 level where they study basic sciences, two years of RELEVANT basic sciences, then three years of clinical studies which include the study of all clinical disciplines including PSYCHIATRY;  one year of Housemanship and one year of National Youth Service, before being allowed to practice medicine – a total of eight years.

    Some scientific studies abroad have shown that the performance of a doctor (whether good or bad, knowledgeable or not, dedicated or not) bears little relevance to the performance in the medical school.  The reason is that about 90% of the course is more theoretical than clinical.  And the clinical component depends on the number of patients available in the institution, number of students in the group, the enthusiasm of the students themselves to the clinical postings, and the diligence of the teachers in clinical teachings.

    There are many medical students who distinguished themselves in the medical school but just turned out to be “average” doctors and yet there are many “average” medical students who turned out to be excellent doctors after graduation.

    Some studies have also shown that the performance of a doctor, however, bears great relevance to the performance during the years of residency training programme.  This is because the residency training programme is about 90% clinical and 10 % theory.  The years of residency training programme can be four years to about seven years post NYSC depending on the specialty.  No doctor now stops after NYSC. Practically all go into a residency training programme after NYSC, whether it is General Practice or Surgery. So, if improvement is needed in our medical education, the focus and emphasis should be on the residency training programme and not on the number of years to spend in the medical school.

    However if this 11-year-medical school programme consists of seven years of university training and four years of specialty (residency) programme, then it can be justified.  But the snag is that first medical degree is awarded by a university Senate, and the postgraduate (fellowship) award is not an award by the university Senate but an award by a professional body that constitutes a College and has no connection with any university.

    • Oluwole G. Ajao

    Professor of Surgery (Rtd)

    College of Medicine, and University College Hospital, Ibadan.

  • Forex demand for medical tourism

    SIR: The CBN recently decried the spate of forex demand by Nigerians seeking medical attention overseas.

    Putting the demand at a whopping 15% of the Deposit Money Bank’s total, the forex allocation cannot but exert an invidious pressure on the economy.

    The taste for foreign medical attention goes beyond mere Epicureanism or a primitive display of wealth, although this narrow pretext may suffice as exception to the rule. The decrepit state of our medical facilities and lack of upgraded training of our medical personnel have combined to push medical tourism beyond the threshold.

    A situation where practically all our government functionaries refuse to patronise local hospitals   and would rather jet out to treat minor ailments is unhelpful to the economy. Rather than subject the economy to the vagaries of unwholesome medical quests, it would be logical to prioritize the type of ailment that should attract forex grant.

    The federal government should also begin to monitor the health sector budget with intensive surveillance. The padding and introduction of discrepancies to the budget of the ministry of health is an unmistakable sign that appropriated funds to the health sector for so many years might have been diverted leaving our medical facilities in a state of disrepair.

    There is urgent need to set up a Budget Implementation Task Force to monitor project implementation across the nation with a mandate to expose graft.

    This is imperative due largely to the abuse and negligence of the National Assembly in the discharge its oversight functions as shown in the Halliburton scandal and the re-looting of the Abacha loot.

    Forex and hard earned resources would continue to go down the drain as long as the national budget cannot be used to achieve economic renaissance due to avoidable sabotage.

    • Bukola Ajisola,

    Victoria Island, Lagos.

  • ‘Nigeria loses $3b yearly to medical tourism’

    Despite Nigeria’s Foreign Exchange (forex) troubles, the country still spends over $3 billion yearly on medical tourism. There is need for a health care revolution in Nigeria to stop the huge sums spent yearly on going to India and other places abroad for simple medical treatments that can be dealt with here, Eko Electricity Distribution Company (EKEDC) Director, Mr. George Etomi, has said.

    He said it is better to invest in healthcare infrastructure because health is wealth. “A robust healthcare infrastructure is critical to the nation’s survival. Go to the Indian Embassy, for instance, you will be embarrassed at the queue of Nigerians willing to pay any amount to go and do simple hernia surgery,” he said.

    While emphasising the need for a healthcare revolution that would improve the quality of health care delivery in Nigeria, Etomi bemoaned a situation where “In Nigeria, you can walk into a hospital as healthy man and then come back a corpse, because ordinary headache can kill you carelessly. So, we lose close to $3billion per annum just to get well.”

    Explaining the huge capital flight in medical tourism and its effects, Etomi said apart from the high cost of flights to Dubai, India and others, Nigerian medical tourists stay there for a month or more depending on the ailment; they must also go with one or two family members to look after them. He said during the waiting period, Nigerians pay hotel bills and buy things from Nigeria.

    The lawyer pointed out that while the simplest operation overseas costs between $20,000 and $30,000 (about N6 million and N9  million), there is no level of treatment one can get in Nigeria that will cost N9 million for a simple operation. “Let one Nigerian hospital give you N2 million medical bills, the whole world will know. But you will go and pay N9 million in India,” Etomi lamented.

    He, however, stated that for a healthcare revolution to happen in Nigeria there must be steady electricity supply. He therefore, uged Nigerians to support the current reform in the power sector, which, according to him, holds the key to improved public services.

    He said: “If we get power right, do you know the amount of savings we will make?” He pointed out, for instance, that steady power could take Nigeria out of the mess caused by drop in oil prices.

    He also said it would also boost Small and Medium scale Enterprises (SMEs) alot. “Power will be available such that you will begin to get improved public services. We will forget depending on oil. We have to look at the multiplier effects and all these things rest on steady power supply,” he added.