Propelled by a personal tragedy and driven by a passion for better healthcare, Ola Orekunrin set up Flying Doctors Nigeria, the first air ambulance service in West Africa, transporting victims of medical emergencies, including industrial workers. She shared with ADETUTU AUDU how she finds fulfillment in saving lives.
WHAT really inspired Flying Doctors?
I love medicine, aviation and entrepreneurial skills. When thinking about something that could really bring these three interests together, I thought it could be a perfect idea. I wanted to find a way that I could facilitate people who were critically ill, get them to see a doctor, and not just any doctor, but getting the right patient to the right facility, within the right time frame for that particular illness.
But I discovered that you lost someone close to you because you could not get air ambulance and that spurred you into the initiative.
That was exactly what happened: my younger sister became very sick when she was in Nigeria. And in England it is very easy to get ambulance to move patient to needed facilities. But in Nigeria, it is difficult to find or even West Africa. We could only get in South Africa. By the time we were able to organise that, my sister died. It was really a devastating time for me and I started thinking about whether I should be in England talking about healthcare in Africa, or I should be in Africa dealing with healthcare and trying to do something about it. It was a wake-up call for me. I began research into how rescue is done in Nigeria. For instance, if bomb explosion happened in Maiduguri and people needed to be evacuated to Abuja, how would this happen?
If somebody is shot in Delta State and
needs the pellet to be removed in Lagos, how does that happen? I was surprised that it does not really happen, people just died. It does not matter who they were or what they can afford. There is just nothing. Even the governors have to travel with ambulance in their own convoy; they could have accident and die. And these are the people who rule the affairs of the states. I wanted to put in place an effective measure to move people from one area to another for treatment.
The reason I started with the air ambulance is because the distances are so far. If you are talking about somebody that is injured in Delta State and there is nowhere in the state that they can treat him, if you decide to take the person by road, it will take like six hours and the person could have been died by that time. Or somebody in Maiduguri that needs to be moved to Abuja, the journey is more than a day.
What were your initial challenges?
The first is finding the aircraft for the job. We realised that not every state has an air pole. Another is the issue of staff. To run pre-hospital service, you need experts. We tried to recruit from Nigeria, but we realised that there were no pre- hospital experts. In England, we have professors in pre-hospital care, that is what they do all ne in collaboration with the Delta State University. It is a big challenge getting people and training them. We got a lot of doctors now working in the pre-hospital environment. In order to get more personnel, we will be opening the first faculty of pre-hospital care in West Africa. We want everybody to be able to offer the essential first aid. We want people in the FRSC. Buying and commissioning big equipment is not what saves lives. Saving lives is very cheap. In Seattle, in America, you are almost 70 percent sure that an average person knows what to do, if someone collapseds. Nigerian doctors might not know what to do to restore that heart, not to talk of an average Nigerian. In Seattle, cleaners, drivers know what to do and this is what we are trying to inculcate in Nigerians.
their lives. We have paramedics, but in Nigeria paramedics are actually non-existing. There is no department of pre-hospital care in the university. We are just opening one in collaboration with the Delta State University. It is a big challenge getting people and training them. We got a lot of doctors now working in the pre-hospital environment. In order to get more personnel, we will be opening the first faculty of pre-hospital care in West Africa. We want everybody to be able to offer the essential first aid. We want people in the FRSC. Buying and commissioning big equipment is not what saves lives. Saving lives is very cheap. In Seattle, in America, you are almost 70 percent sure that an average person knows what to do, if someone collapseds. Nigerian doctors might not know what to do to restore that heart, not to talk of an average Nigerian. In Seattle, cleaners, drivers know what to do and this is what we are trying to inculcate in Nigerians.
Who are your clientele?
Most change, unfortunately, when it comes to medicine starts at the top. We work with banks, manufacturing companies and other corporate organisations. Even the scope of the organisation, it is probably the less-privileged people that probably benefited. The managing director of Skye Bank for instance is not going to be at a branch when armed robbers storm the bank; it is probably going to be the security guards or cashiers. Dangote is not going to be the one operating machine and get his fingers amputated. We want to reach the ordinary Nigerians. Once you have succeeded in the private sector, then the government will try to notice you. I don’t believe in Nigerians’ mentality of government.com. Everybody has to be working for government; prove yourself in the private sector first. We have been working with the private sector for some years now and they have small budgets and we have to work with the budgets. People working with government just throw money around without anything to show for it.
working with government just throw money around without anything to show for it.
You will agree with me that this project is capital intensive. So how do you source for fund?
I started with my money. People thought it was impossible but no matter how small your salary is, I believe you can save. I started working after graduation, I had a very terrible car too. While others were changing their cars, buying Ferrari and moving apartment after graduation, living according to their new status, I did not. I stayed in my student’s apartment because I was saving 90 percent of my income. When I thought I had enough, I came to Nigeria and started off. The structure of the company is that we sell and re-invest into the company.
When would you say the breakthrough came?
I was really frustrated because things were not moving at a time; I had to go back to England and come back and re-invest. I was spending money, using my last money to buy my ticket back to England, work some few hours and come back again. This was going on for a while and I was becoming frustrated. One day, I was invited to a party, I met a supposed ‘sugar daddy’, we exchanged business cards. He later called me around 3.00am few days later. And I was like pissed off; how can a sugar daddy be calling me early in the morning? He later told me that he needed my help, his son was sick and in another region. ‘You told me you do air ambulance, come and do the job now.’ I realised that the equipment was there and I could do it. So I approached Helicopter Company that could help, though I didn’t have the money to lease. I called them up and told them I would pay later, we did the job and I paid the lease. The man later turned out to be a husband to one of the influential women and I just saved their son’s life. That was how she started introducing me around. And that was it. I almost gave up because I had lost so much money and I could see my mates progressing within the system.
What really motivated you to study medicine?
I like science. I also have a sister who had sickle cell anaemia and she was always in the hospital; that made me to interact with doctors a lot.
How was it easy for you moving from England to Nigeria?
I have been to a lot of countries. I have been to Japan, where I was supposed to be working in a hospital. I couldn’t speak their language. Even taking the train was a problem; I couldn’t read the station, I had to be looking at the picture in my hand if it correlated with the one on the train. But in Nigeria, everybody speaks English, so it was much easier.
What was growing up like for you?
I grew up in a normal environment. My parents were ready to invest in me regardless that I am a female child. In Nigeria, a lot of parents see female children as second class. But my parents were really supportive.
How do you relax in the midst of your tight schedule?
I don’t watch TV, which is odd. But I get a lot of inspiration from books and listening to radio. If I have children, I may not be able to do this.
