From Oluseye Ojo, Ibadan
The Chief Medical Director, University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, Prof Abiodun Otegbayo, has warned that affordable healthcare in Nigeria may be a mirage of three steps are not taken immediately to make Nigerians Ave universal access to healthcare.
He gave the warning during an interview with journalists on the sidelines of a press conference, which he addressed in the boardroom of the hospital to mark the 66th anniversary of the teaching hospital on Monday.
Otegbayo, who was flanked by the management of the foremost teaching hospital in Nigeria, suggested three ways to make healthcare delivery system affordable to Nigerians, inspire of the galloping inflation in the country.
According to him, “We all know that the economy of Nigeria at the moment is not smiling at anybody. It will continue to increase because inflation is just going up. We have to look at the medical industrialisationof Nigeria, such that we shall be producing what we need locally. Now, we have been buying medical equipment and drugs with foreign exchange and things like that. In Nigeria, when the price of something goes up, rarely does it come down.
“However, there is a solution. For me, the solution is universal healthcare. In any system, where people pay out-of-pocket, the healthcare becomes unaffordable at a level. I have seen people, as a practitioner, die because they don’t have money. It is not at the point of care that we need to ask people to bring money.
“In the United Kingdom, they don’t have something like National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) system. But government pays. And the government deducts it as tax. That is what they use the tax for over there. But what amazed me is that, even for foreigners, who is not a citizen of their country, and who is not paying tax, if you have an emergency, they treat you free of charge.
“The cost of healthcare will continue to increase if we don’t do anything about it. So, the Universal Healthcare through health insurance is the way out. If all of us here are contributing N10 for health, not all of us will be sick at the same time. So, that money, you will use to treat. It is just about 10 per cent of it that should be saved. We will continue to contribute. It is either we do it that way by deducting it from our salaries like they are doing, or by taxation system that they use in United Kingdom. That is the way out.
“Two, we must get our Primary Health Care fixed. If we don’t fix our primary healthcare, there is no way we will fix our system. Of course, number three is that we have to reduce our population. The population of Nigeria is exploding. And it is being said that by Year 2030, our population will be like that of the United States, which is over 400million. This is not something that should be allowed to happen.
“When General Ibarahim Babangida was the military president, there was this rule of four children per family, which is even to me, is still high.”
Otegbayo, who listed his achievements in office, also mentioned some of the challenges confronting the teaching hospital, saying incessant power cut, cost of diesel, water shortage, and staff shortage, among them. He said the hospital has one 1000 KVA generator that can power the whole of the hospital but always consume 300 litres of diesel every hour.
He continued: “We have close to 70 generators, such as 250KVA in some places, and 150KVA in other places. Those ones consume less and we are maintaining them. If we are to treat patients and charge them what we deserve, no average Nigerian will be able to come to the hospital.
“The Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC) is charging us (UCH) as if we are bank or an industry, which we are not. We are rendering social services and of course, it makes our electricity bill from IBEDC to he very high on monthly basis. We pay about N57million to IBEDC. In fact, there was a month that the bill was N71million, though part of this is College of Medicine of University of Ibadan. So, the college is owing us.
“But nobody talks about them because they are like small geographical entity within UCH. So, we are also appealing to the Vice Chancellor to help us pay the indebtedness of College of Medicine, University of Ibadan We spend about N18million to N20million on diesel monthly.”
Otegbayo said the insecurity and theft of UCH property forced the management to beef up the security architecture of the hospital, adding that Close Circuit Television (CCTV) cameras have brn installed all over the hospital, including the residential areas.
His words: “Of course, we also have some challenges along that line. Some of our members of staff steal or siphon the diesel. In fact, this morning (Monday), I discussed with the Head of Special Duties to look further into it, and also the Chief Security Officer. This is a very challenging matter at hand. When you have people you have selected as your security men steal your things, how do you catch them?
“We fixed some solar bulbs in our general patients department. These solar bulbs cost N3,000 per one. When light goes, it can still be on for about three to four hours. They removed all of them. So, these are part of what we are dealing with in terms of security. This is why we are trying to invest in security.”
Otegbayo also said a car was parked suspiciously at a spot in the hospital. He added that the security searched the car, which has foreign number of fairly used Tokunbo car, and recovered AK-47 rifle in it.
“On the car, its number is foreign one. It is a fairly used car that was brought into Nigeria. The plate number was yellow. Since that time, nobody has come up to claim the car. We cannot prosecute as an institution. So, we reported to the police. The car has been tolled to the Yemetu Police Station. I usually ask the Chief Security Officer of of UCH to follow up. Of course, once we do that, there is little we can do. We have handed over the car and the rifle to the appropriate agency of the law. It is now for them to do whatever that they want to do.
“If our security agencies are well developed, they would catch the person. There is no way there won’t be fingerprints in the vehicle; just take fingerprints, put it on the system, it will just bring out the picture and everything of the person. But we don’t have that in place for now. I think that is what government is trying to do by all these capturing of biometrics.”