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 The authorities of Vedic Lifecare Clinic have said that
Nigerians dont need to visit foreign countries in search of
medical care if world-class health facilities are available in
the country.
Speaking at the inauguration of the clinic in Lagos on
Monday, the Director of the clinic, Dr. Benedict Okpala,
said though health care should be provided by all the tiers
of government, it was obvious that government could not
do it alone and that private investors must step in to fill the
gap.
Okpala revealed that in many instances, even some
Nigerians who could pay for overseas treatment ended up
dying as a result of many factors, among which were delay
in the issuance of visa, and late diagnosis because of dearth
of up-to-date medical equipment.
He said even where there were equipment, lack of seasoned
professionals to operate them was another problem that
made Nigerians to embark on medical tourism in search of
healing.
"These nagging issues and much more are what we hope to
address as we open Vedic Lifecare Clinic for services,"
Okpala said.
He disclosed that in a bid to offer highly standardised care
to patients, the clinic had trained all its team at home and
abroad, while there were foreign partners to also transfer
knowledge about the application of the state-of-the-art
equipment on offer at the hospital.
Another director in the clinic, Mr. Pius Olarewaju, noted
that VLC was affiliated to Manipal Hospitals, said to be one
of the top three hospital networks in India.
"What this translates into is that we make use of
telecommunication and information technologies in order
to provide clinical health care at a distance, and thus
improve our patients clinical health status.
"Technically, it is referred to as telemedicine and its use
helps to eliminate distance barriers and can improve access
to medical services that may otherwise be unavailable in
the immediate environment where the patient is. It is also
used to save lives in critical care and emergency situations,"
Olarewaju said.
According to the directors, the new clinic is ISO 14000-
certified and is therefore in a position to run comprehensive
health management and give Nigerians the best medical
treatment possible.
Head of Operations, Mr. Raman Bhaskar, said one area of
specialty which VLC engages in is preventive health care
which, he said, makes health care affordable since people
would have known the status of their health as they
undergo relevant medical screenings on a regular basis.
In a speech read on his behalf at the inauguration, the
Minister of Health, Prof. Onyebuchi Chukwu, said the
establishment of VLC was in line with the Federal
Governments efforts to align health care delivery with
global best practices.
"The transformation agenda for the health sector is hinged
on the overall goal of delivering excellent health services
to the generality of Nigerians. Indeed, the full
implementation of the agenda will curb the current trend of
medical tourism and its resultant capital flight," Chukwu
said.
Currently, Nigerians are said to spend an estimated $200m
annually on overseas medical treatment, while about 75 per
cent of foreigners who access overseas health care are also
said to be Nigerians.
Okpala said while the clinic was working towards providing
super-specialty medical services, it currently offers
treatment in dental care, womens health, eye care, ear,
nose and throat, heart and kidney care, dialysis, liver and
digestive disorders, among others.