Regardless of government’s efforts to optimise healthcare delivery, Nigeria is still faced with fundamental care related challenges. Reviewing the dynamics of health care delivery in the country, developing a framework for sustainable health care delivery is essential for improving the outcomes.
To address these challenges, EY, a global professional services firm has organised a healthcare roundtable where experts in the area of health brainstorm to proffer solutions to the challenges affecting the sector.The experts at the roundtable event tagged “Unlocking the Stranded Values in Healthcare” discussed ‘The challenges of healthcare in Nigeria as a business opportunity. What are the solutions? Tapping into the Medical Tourism market, Business models that have garnered the most capital from investors in the healthcare sector and the Future of healthcare in Nigeria.’
Head and Partner, EY Transaction Advisory Services, West Africa, Olufemi Alabi said, they are looking at solutions and the untapped potential in the sector which when harnessed through effective collaboration between stakeholders and government can optimise service delivery.He said: “Looking at the healthcare space and its challenges, people are deterred from making investment because the healthcare system is fragmented and lacks adequate regulation.
“We need to stop discussing the issues but proffer solutions. A lot has been said about how government can provide the insight but the more important thing is how can we as people of healthcare service start working on improving these things along with the government with possibility of making this work,”
Alabi said that Nigeria can use technology that already exists to enhance healthcare service stressing that their view is that within a very short time the healthcare system will change.“We are ready to take advantage of that change and move in that direction to utilise the opportunity that exist. We are not where we should be but we will get to those points.
“As EY we are ensuring from a known based perspective, we are increasing the awareness and opportunity. We are increasing the awareness of potential solution that exists that can be adopted and we hope all of these will get to a point healthcare will not be a situation we talking about the challenges but we will be looked out from the global perspective as growth sector in the Nigerian economy,” he noted.He continued: “One of the things we want to do is not just have a talk show but to summarise the discussion point to share with audience in terms of how we can move forward and we believe it is step in the right direction.
Chief Medical Director, Med-In Specialist Hospital, Dr. Olu Awosika, said that for us to get things right in the area of health we need to start from the basics. He said it entails going back to our medical schools and make it what it used to be because our medical graduates were accepted anywhere in the world then.
Awosika tasked the government to recognise the impact of medical services. “The government priority is not on medical services. We are spending so low on that and we must try as much as possible to make sure that doctors are paid living wage because when people call you a doctor so much is expected from you.”He said that many people cannot afford private practice; the ordinary person cannot afford it, stressing that the Primary Health Care (PHC), Secondary and Tertiary care centres should be improved.
The CMD tasked the populace to hold the government accountable because people are dying for useless things in Nigeria stating that it is the responsibilities of the government to provide health for the people.“Years ago, Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) was known all over West Africa, people come from the neighboring countries to do radiotherapy, the same thing in UCH they came to do chemotherapy, now what has happened. All the instruments have broken down. Nothing is happening, he said. Awosika continued: “In England, there is private sector but standard has been set by government. We do not have that here. We must hold the government responsible.
“Unlocking values involves people and structure. You can have best of structure but you do not have people to run it, it is a waste of time. To unlock the values, we need to get the training right. We need to put a lot of money in the medical practice. Nigeria can be a centre of medical attraction for the whole of West and East Africa if only we are capable of doing the right things.”Director, PharmaAccess, Dr. Olamide Okulaja, said the health sector is a viable sector for investments urging the government to fortify existing laws in the sector, enact workable policies and fund the health care sector according to the World Health Organisation.
