Management of Avon Medical Practice Limited has expressed determination to bridge the gap in Nigeria’s healthcare sector, saying works are in progress to reduce the number of citizens who seek medical treatment abroad.
Chief Executive Officer of Avon Medical Practice, Dr Akinbiyi Oke, also said given that travelling expenses and exchange rate was on the increase, many Nigerians were beginning to look for solutions within the country, many of which they provide.
Oke spoke at a media parley organised by the organisation as part of preparations for the official launch of Avon Medical’s ultra-modern facility on Monday in Lagos.
Addressing newsmen in Lagos, the CEO said: “We definitely can bridge some of the healthcare gaps. It is much more expensive to travel and convert money into dollars or into pounds to get services now. I am sure there are people already looking inwards rather than travelling. I am sure we are in a position for that to happen.”
On the soon-to-be launched facility, Oke said its features included a diagnostic centre, an outpatient unit, the inpatient services and the more specialised critical areas such as the operating room, recovery, delivery, neonatal intensive care, the nursery and intensive care units.
According to him, the diagnostic has the laboratory services, a CT scan and an ultrasound scan.
He said: “We also have the accident unit. We are providing quality, affordable care. What we are going to be doing differently is to ensure that our patient experience is top-notch. We have put measures in place to make sure that patients can give us feedback, irrespective of whatever they have gone through, so that if there is any issue that needs to be managed or improved upon, we can work on that.
“Patient experience is very key to us here in Avon Medical. In addition to that, we are currently on the journey of getting the accreditation for quality in healthcare, and that includes ensuring patient safety, ensuring that there are no unnecessary results of surgery, post-op surgery complications, neonatal complications, no falls, anything that can happen within the premises. All of those things, we are putting measures in place. When we have any drug reaction, and if there is anything that can happen, we have collaborations with the necessary authorities to manage all those situations.”
Also speaking, Consultant Radiologist, Head Diagnostics and Dialysis Services, Dr Ejiro Nwachuku, stated that for medical tourism, Avon Medical could bridge the gap.
Nwachukwu said: “I will give an example. We have a patient that has congenital heart disease, and we all know that depending on the category, most of these congenital heart diseases are managed outside the country, surgery, ocular surgery. When the parents reached out to us, we were allowed to work with a doctor outside the country to fix the heart condition.”
Meanwhile, Head, Human Resources and Admin at Avon, Omotoke Okoro, stated that the organisation has a friendly calendar for doctors.
According to her, Avon’s roster was not only fixed, payment packages were also competitive.
She said: “If a doctor works between 15 and 16 days in a month, he has about between 14 and 15 days to do whatever he feels. It is a great place to work because the pay is competitive, and the environment is conducive.”