MUST READ: ONDO STATE BECOMES NIGERIA'S MEDICAL TOURISM DESTINATION..!

As Nigeria continues to struggle with the realities of the dwindling global oil price, it is unquestionable that the country is desperately in need of an economic diversification plan, which is crucial to her survival.

While several policies, analysis and attempts have been made by leaders and economic analysts in the country on how to diversify the economy in the face of seeming challenges, the health plan designed by Ondo State Government under the leadership of the state’s governor, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko, has proven to be among the few concrete examples of steps Nigeria can take in order to ensure her economical emancipation from over reliance on crude oil as a revenue source.

Taking Ondo on the journey to become Nigeria’s medical tourism destination, Mimiko built a comprehensive medical village, which according to him is borne out of the desire to make specialized healthcare services readily available to the people of the state where they live, work and play and also to provide world-class, tertiary specialized surgical and emergency care which adheres to the best international practices within an integrated healthcare system.

The MEDICAL VILLAGE which is well equipped with state-of-the-art health facilities is located in Ondo Town, encompassing about 4 kilometers from the city of Akure and 116 kilometres from Benin in Ondo Town plays host to the Mother and Child Hospital, Kidney Care Centre, the Gani Fawehinmi Diagnostic Centre and the University of Medical Sciences (First of its kind in Africa). There is also a state-of-the-art emergency Communication Centre, a Histopathology and Forensic Centre which are yet to fully take off (AWESOME).

ONDO STATE TRAUMA AND SURGICAL CENTRE
The Ondo State Trauma and Surgical Centre is a rapidly evolving surgical specialty based centre aimed at providing world-class tertiary comprehensive surgical services to the people of Ondo State, surrounding environs and Nigeria in General.

Ondo State Trauma and Surgical Centre commenced clinical and surgical services on 28thNovember 2013 with the following specialties; Orthopaedics and Trauma, Plastic Surgery, ENT, Anaesthesia and General surgery. It has since continued to improve and augment services, infrastructure and personnel to include Paediatric Surgery, Urology, Maxillo – facial Sugery and Opthalmology. The centre has carried out over 3000 surgeries as at November 2015.

It serves as a referral area for mainly the General Hospitals in Ondo State and parts of Osun, Ekiti and Edo State. It also receives referrals from across Nigeria and patients from other parts of the country(very good).

The Ondo State Trauma and Surgical Centre runs 24hours emergency services in General Surgery, Burns, Plastic and reconstructive surgery, Orthopaedics and Trauma, Neurologic surgery, Paediatric surgery, Otorhinolaryngology, Anaesthesia, pharmacy, Nursing, Physiotherapy, and Radio diagnosis.

The Trauma Centre liaise closely with sister hospitals; Ondo State Kidney Care Centre, Gani Fawehinmi Diagnostic services and Mother and Child Hospital with which Mimiko Government constitute a Medical Village for ancillary support services including Obstetrics, Gynaecology, Paediatrics, Radiology and Laboratory support.

It also runs out – patient surgical services and offer our patients elective day – case surgeries with efficient in – patient care, including oncology, endocrine, hepatobiliary, breast surgery, a special Burn Centre and intensive care.

NOTE THIS- At the Trauma Centre, care is provided to patients before billing and this emphasizes the true intention of the government, ‘saving lives’

ONDO STATE EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES AGENCY (ODEMSA)
To further straighten the emergency medical services, the state government established  ODEMSA with the mandate to provide emergency rescue, pre-hospital and hospital services to road crash victims in the state.

5 fully functional Accident Rescue Stations along the highways across Ondo state were built; Ore, Bolorunduro, Ilara, Owo and Oka-Akoko. 100 Extricators and 100 paramedics work 24hrs in all the stations and the response time to accident scenes is 15mins. Each station has an Advanced TRAUMA Life Support Vehicle equipped with oxygen and other essentials needed sustain accident victims while they are being conveyed to the nearest hospital or the Trauma Center.

I believe every state in Nigeria can copy this great idea and implement it to the fullest... what is your take on this?

Source: Vanguard Newspaper..