ABUAD MSH Hospital Urges Against Medical Tourism

Dr. Kolawole Ogundipe, the Chief Medical Director, Afe Babalola University Ado-Ekiti (ABUAD) Multi-System Hospital, Ado-Ekiti, is urging for Nigerians to stop travelling abroad for medical treatment and instead to patronise well-equipped hospitals with competent experts in the country for effective medicare and as well strengthening of the country’s health sector.

Dr. Ogundipe stated the fact that follow-up care, which is highly necessary for many treatments, could be difficult after receiving medical care abroad had made the patronage of well-equipped hospitals in the country crucial for a better and more efficient healthcare delivery.

On Saturday, the ABUAD MSH CMD had spoken with journalists in Ado-Ekiti on the hospital’s facilities and competence in treatment of chronic kidney diseases now on the increase and said that a total of six successful kidney transplants, had been performed in the hospital.

“In all, we have performed six kidney transplants between October and now. They were all successful. The three most recent kidney transplants performed in the week included a 15-year-old patient and two middle-aged men. No hospital in Nigeria has the number of dialysis facilities and experts that we parade. The machines run 400 sections of dialysis monthly. We even have specific machines to treat renal patients with HIV or hepatitis B or C to prevent risk of infection. Aside, this hospital has performed over 200 interventional and open heart surgeries within a spate of four years that it began operations.”

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The CMD, who had said that four other patients were being screened at present for kidney transplant, said that, “The major challenge has always been how to get the donors. We are careful to ensure that donors are blood relations or related socially to the patients, so that there won’t be reason for the people to do it for financial benefit.

“Our citizens, especially people of means, should stop unnecessary medical tourism abroad, ABUAD MSH is a perfect destination of choice that can offer affordable and efficient medical treatments. They should stop unnecessary medical tourism outside the country which can be accompanied by problems arising from lack of follow-up later. At ABUAD MSH here, we follow up with patients and serve as caregivers to them.”

Dr. Stephen Oguntola, a consultant nephrologist and Coordinator of Kidney Transplant Programme in the hospital, stated that the post-transplantation observations of all the patients had shown that they were all in stable medical conditions and were responding well with assurance of full recovery from the renal disease.

The 15-year-old girl, who was in high spirits, said that she would like to study Medicine and Surgery to become a doctor in view of “the friendliness, proficiency and efficiency of the medical personnel that attended to me in this hospital. I feel better. ABUAD hospital is far better than other hospitals around. The care I received here is far better than what I got in other hospitals I went before getting here eventually,” she said.