Ondo State Governor, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko, has projected that the state will in no time, become the number one medical tourism destination in the country. He made the projection on the strength of the states newly established medical university, adding that the idea of the medical institution was conceived to offer services in the area of research and medical services to the people.

The Governor said this yesterday during a chat with newsmen.
He said with the establishment of the school, government intends to have a world class institution that will not only deliver world class medical instructions, but will also offer world class services, adding that in few years time, the state will be the number one medical tourism destination.

“What we have in mind is a world class institution that will not only deliver world class medical institution but will also offer world class services. We believe that few years down the line, this state will be the number one medical tourism destination.”

He stressed further that even before the medical University takes off, the Trauma Centre and the Medical village which will be the core facility for the institution have been operational, adding that the school already has Post Graduate accreditation for surgery and orthopaedic.

Declaring that government intend to have a university that will become a global reference point in medical endeavour, Mimiko said in the next few years, the state will produce a lot of first class doctors that can practice in the world.

The Governor further enumerated other economic effects of the institution, part of which he mentioned would be derived from diagnostics services and treatment at very reasonable fee compared to what is obtainable abroad.

He added that with the provision of the institution, Nigerians will no longer have the need to go abroad for medical attention any longer as this he offered, will also reduce capital flight.

While signing into law, the bill establishing the Ondo State University of Medical Science before now, the Governor had said the university would not just be another university but a global reference point in the area of health.

“We are not just building a university but a specialised one that will beat all national benchmark. The university will be a global reference point in medical care.”

He said facilities at the Trauma Centre, Mother and Child Hospital, Kidney Centre, Gani Fawawehinmi Diagnostic Centre and others would not only serve the university but the entire Ondo State.

Recall that the State Government had announced its plan to establish a Medical Science University to enable it institutionalize the successes it has been able to achieve in the health sector.

The state’s Commissioner for Information, Hon. Kayode Akinmade who spoke on the plan also informed that the proposed University seeks to halt the brain drain being experienced in the health sector through the production of top quality health professionals to effectively man the various hospitals in the state.

Informing that Ondo state is the only state in the southwestern region without a Teaching Hospital, the establishment of a medical Science University, Akinmade mentioned, became imperative especially as it is expected to make for the provision of an institutional base for acquisition of academic, professional and technological knowledge needed for manpower development in technology, basic applied sciences.