Doctor-patient ratio too low in Nigeria — Experts

Some medical practitioners have lamented the absence of enough skilled healthcare workers in Nigeria.

A board member of Iwosan Lagoon Hospital, Oladapo Oshinusi, said the doctor-patient ratio in the country was getting worse.

Oshinusi stated this while fielding questions from newsmen during the unveiling of one of the hospital’s specialist centres in Victoria Island, Lagos. He said lack of enough hospitals and healthcare workers is denying Nigerians access to quality healthcare.

The CEO of Iwosan Investments Limited, Fola Laoye,  noted that the opening of the hospital in Victoria Island was aimed at the  reversal of medical tourism. He stressed that the facility offers services such as cardiology, general surgery, critical emergency care, obstetrics gynecology, pediatrics and neonatal intensive care, neurosurgery, among others.

“Every time we have had to evacuate people abroad, those we are taking them to are not borrowers; we deposit half a million dollars to the hospital.

“The air ambulance from Lagos to Boston will cost about $200, 000, that is just to present you to the doctor; nothing about your health and quite often we bring them back dead,” he said.

He also disclosed that the management has a Private-Public Partnership (PPP) with the Lagos State government to build a 150-bed hospital.

Speaking during the unveiling, the governor of Lagos state, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu, said, “This hospital embodies the critical need for quality healthcare throughout Lagos and Nigeria, its opening marks a significant step towards improving the lives of our communities.”