This is in a bid to stop the spate of medical trips abroad as well as build local capacity especially for ailments that could be treated locally but for the absence of expertise and facilities.
The facility which is designed to handle heart and kidney related diseases also offers out-patient services, diagnostic services, ultrasound, CT scan, Echo cardiograph, Stress Electrocardiography, laboratory services, fluoroscopy, ocular investigation for complications from hypertension, diabetes and renal conditions, haemo-dialysis for acute and chronic kidney diseases with 24 dialysis machine, admission for all cardiac conditions that requires hospital stay, critical care in intensive care unit (ICU) and high dependency wards, cardiac cauterization, non invasive cardiology, open heart surgery, renal surgery, nursing and diabetic services, rehabilitation services and corporate wellness program.
The State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Jide Idris while giving reasons for embarking on the project noted that the State government through the Ministry of Health considers it appropriate and timely to have a befitting cardiac and renal centre due to the increasing number of patients presenting with end stage renal failure adding also that the lack of a purpose built renal specialist centre, the periodic nature of the cardiac and renal missions which has limited the number of beneficiaries and the need to conserve the financial resources currently being expended in the management of patients with renal and cardiac diseases in foreign countries are key reasons for building the facility.
He noted that cardiac and renal diseases constitute a growing health burden globally stressing that there is what is called a triple jeopardy in the health sector especially in Lagos and Nigeria which require efforts of stakeholders in State health system to address.
Idris also opined that setting up of the facility will help bring back home Nigerian medical specialists referring to it as a way of ‘brain gain’ to defeat the ‘brain drain’ phenomenon stressing that over the years quite a number of indigenous medical personnel have left the country for greener pastures outside of the country due to lack of infrastructure and facilities with which to exhibit their skills.
“We have over 2000 specialists in the United States, similar number in Europe and Canada. And this is one way of brain gain instead of brain drain because if you established a facility with the right equipment and infrastructure, we can use that to attract the specialist abroad back home where they can exhibit their expertise and at the same time build local capacity here. That was the basic underlining reason why we decided to embark on this project.he said.
He added that the cardiac and renal centre has been built to very good specification that specialists who have signed up can attest to this, stressing that the centre has facility for telemedicine which will make every procedure going on in the facility to be reviewed by colleagues anywhere in the world thereby ensuring that training and cutting edge facility therapy will be available at the facility.
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