By Bolaji Okunola
Lagos State Commissioner for Health, Professor Akin Abayomi, has disclosed that hands are on deck to make residents witness affordable health care in various private health sector of the state.
Abayomi stated this while representing his principal, governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu at the maiden anniversary of Duchess International Hospital, GRA, Ikeja, Lagos.
Speaking, Abayomi revealed the state ministry of health is at the brink of importing expertise which will be spread across private hospitals with the aim of rendering services at affordable prices.
He applauded staff of the institution for ability to maintain world class facilities, building trust in the healthcare system, providing high-quality affordable services to Nigerians and reversing the trend of medical tourism abroad.
In his words: “The Lagos State government will continue to provide the right policy environment and infrastructural support for businesses and healthcare facilities to ensure the state becomes a major destination and hub for healthcare delivery across sub- Saharan Africa.
“The ministry is working tirelessly to ensure private hospitals are affordable for all in few days to come. We have a strategic initiative to reverse medical tourism and bring back high skilled and experience medical professionals currently in the Diaspora, back to Nigeria. Duchess has position themselves as pace setter and I applaud the staff for their commitment so far.
“They have what it takes in terms of standard facilities and affordable registration fee and I hope to see more of this in other private sector.”
Reacting to his appraisal and highlighting the achievement recorded in the past twelve months, Chief Executive Officer of the hospital, Dr Adetokunbo Shitta-Bey, expressed that the institution whose registration fee remains five thousand naira (N5,000) won’t relent in its vision.
“The hospital is proud to have successfully conducted a wide variety of routine and complex specialist interventions across a range of specialties and sub-specialty clinical services.
“These procedures have been conducted in specialties such as Interventional cardiology, cardiothoracic surgery, neurosurgery, paediatrics, obstetrics and gynaecology, orthopaedic surgery, gastroenterology and reconstructive plastic surgery, including a complex twelve-hour breast reconstruction operation following successful surgical treatment for breast cancer, performed within the first few weeks of commencing services.
“It has been our privilege, in the past year to bring joy and satisfaction to the lives of ordinary Nigerians, and to restore hope, often in quite difficult circumstances, through life-saving , treatment delivered right here at the Duchess International Hospital,” Dr. Shitta-Bey stated.