Dr. Ola Brown
So doing, the government will save billions of dollars just by concentrating expert resources and reducing healthcare spending.
Founder, Flying Doctors, Nigeria, Dr. Ola Brown, lamented the high cost of healthcare in the country, saying the Federal Government does not have enough money to build centres of medical excellence in every state of the federation.
Brown reasoned that in such circumstance, “Nigeria needs to develop its air ambulance infrastructure led by companies such as the Flying Doctors Nigeria Air Ambulance service, to ensure that patients can access healthcare.”
She added that the Flying Doctors Nigeria had developed a
cost-effective, commercial air ambulance solution that allows patients
to be transported by air for less than the price of a ground ambulance.
“This cost pales in comparison to the cost of developing multiple
hospitals which would be financially impossible to staff or equipped and
run on their current budget,” she said.
Brown noted that the United Kingdom’s National Health Service (NHS)
budget stands at more than $100 billion per year, and it coves 65
million citizens. Whereas Nigeria’s entire budget, by contrast, is about
$12 billion per year, over 60 per cent of which goes to recurrent
government expenses such as salaries, travel, training, and perks.
She lamented that there is less than $1 billion for healthcare in a country with a population of 170 million people.
According to her, “Putting a state-of-the-art hospital in every state
of Nigeria would cost about $30 billion, which is more than double the
entire budget. Even if we had the money, we lack the resources in terms
of doctors, nurses, support staff, maintenance engineers to ensure that
these hospitals could function.”
She added that the only viable alternative is to centralise the
country’s healthcare system, with just one or two state-of-the-art
centres that are home to Nigeria’s finest and most experienced medical
practitioners. These centres, she reiterated, would receive the bulk of
healthcare investment, allowing doctors to specialise effectively.
“Majority of the sick people do not need to be in hospital. They can
be managed effectively through primary care systems in the community.
Source:-guardian.ng/
