In a healthcare panorama usually dominated by excessive prices and late-stage remedy, bridging the hole between scientific diagnostics and proactive public well being has by no means been extra crucial. Peninsula Medicare Limited, a multi-specialty diagnostic and medical facility, is partnering with media and life-style model Shakara Square to advertise preventive healthcare by way of a neighborhood health stroll and medical outreach. In this interview, Managing Director and CEO of Peninsula Medicare Limited, Dr. Ikenna Ubadigha, displays on his return from the UK after 20 years, the operational realities of operating a contemporary diagnostic centre in Nigeria, and why aligning with Shakara Square marks a key step ahead in empowering native communities with preventive care and lifesaving expertise.
What does Peninsula Medicare Limited stand for and its targets ?
Peninsula Medicare Limited is a non-public diagnostic and healthcare facility situated in Festac Town, Lagos, Nigeria. It capabilities as a complete diagnostic centre and specialised healthcare clinic. We function beneath the slogan ‘Patient-Focused Care… Every Step of the Way.’ Based on its scientific mission and operational practices, its core targets embody: Providing Crucial Diagnostic Information; Promoting Early Detection & Preventive Health; Delivering Specialized & Compassionate Care; and Enhancing Healthcare Accessibility. What we don’t do is we don’t admit the bizarre sufferers; so we service the hospitals. A affected person can stroll in additionally, get their companies and go residence. So it’s not for individuals to come back in and keep over. The solely individuals who can keep over are simply these within the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), the excessive dependency unit.
How lengthy have you ever been right here for?
Exactly three years, final week. Peninsular Medicare was simply three years, precisely final week. And then I’m glad that we’ve grown in leaps and bounds, from servicing about 20-30 sufferers a day, we’ve gone to tons of of sufferers in a day. So I’m grateful to God for that progress.
Looking again from if you began until now, how would you describe the journey?
It’s nearly a 12 months now, I truly relocated again from the UK. I lived within the UK for over 20 years. And once I was going to come back again, most of my pals thought I used to be going loopy. They mentioned: ‘Why are you leaving the UK to come back to Nigeria with this hectic atmosphere and everything?’ But it’s like when you’ve gotten a calling. And I came upon right here in Nigeria, what we do is healing drugs, which is a really expensive, costly and emotionally draining type of remedy. But the thought right here is to show and preach preventive drugs. That’s what we do roughly. So the thought is, come right here, present that world class remedy or service, make sufferers teel good and glad to come back again to. Most of my sufferers come again as a result of they’re handled like sufferers, not like anyone. That’s why we’ve this focus right here, affected person centered care. So as a affected person, we take you as a human being that wants our assist. We are right here due to the affected person. So we give them the utmost care they want in no matter process they’re doing.
Considering the price of healthcare proper now in Nigeria, do you continue to suppose that individuals rely extra on conventional drugs slightly correct healthcare?
The price of healthcare in Nigeria is exorbitant in comparison with different nations. I can inform you that a lot of the sufferers who ought to have come to the hospital could not be capable to afford it, or will be unable to afford it. And would slightly select another half-baked medical practices like going to the standard drugs healers simply because they can’t afford this. I feel the federal government ought to are available right here and truly do so much to assist. Government must subsidise the associated fee so much as a result of, if I ought to take an instance right here, I spend about N180,000 to N200,000 on diesel alone every day. Who bears the associated fee? It’s not me. It goes again to the affected person. Because I’ve acquired to supply the companies. Cost of diesel is astronomical now. So this is only one issue of the entire bills being run right here. And you discuss concerning the overhead prices of operating this property right here, and the workers; its so much. And our costs have a tendency to simply barely add somewhat bit on high of it, in comparison with different locations that cost excessive.
I’m positive a lot of the amenities and machine are outsourced; not from Nigeria. Considering the naira volatility, how is that this affecting you? How can you conveniently incur these prices in your sufferers in a means they will nonetheless afford it ?
We do much more right here. In this one facility and the overhead price is shared by all of the procedures. That helps to deliver down the prices. You can see we’ve a number of procedures to be accomplished right here. So these procedures share the price of operating this enterprise. And that helps cut back the price of every particular person process. Apart from that, it’s a enterprise. We wish to make earnings however not on the detriment of the sufferers. So we are inclined to deliver down our costs; simply to interrupt even and pay the salaries. And then retains all people completely satisfied.
Why did you determine to accomplice with Shakara Square to do health stroll occasion?
First and foremost, when my advertising and marketing officer Nkechi, introduced the thought, what struck me, initially, is the identify ‘Shakara.’ It’s a catchy identify. That’s branding. Branding gross sales.So that identify, ‘Shakara,’ caught me. And Ijeoma Ude, the founding father of Shakara Square.ng is kind of amiable and likeable. That’s on the private facet. But on the company facet, like I did say, what we do right here in Peninsula is preventive well being care. And as a result of what they’re doing is a part of what we preach. Preventive well being care. It aligns with our imaginative and prescient for the neighborhood. So we’re in it.
What do you propose to attain after the occasion or in the course of the occasion?
First and foremost, we’re going to supply some free medical exams for the individuals. We’re going to have an optometrist, a dentist, some medical personnel to take blood stress and test blood sugar and possibly malaria. That alone helps the neighborhood. We wish to give again to the neighborhood. This is our major neighborhood. We’re going have our ambulance service going after the runners to assist out. Like I mentioned, we’re solely three years previous right here and the extra we’re out in the neighborhood, the extra individuals get to know us and know what we preach. And on one other private notice, there’s a excessive incidence of cardiac arrest in Nigeria and for most individuals, when it occurs, they don’t know what to do. They simply watch any person sweating on the ground and dying. But the easy data of CPR lets you maintain the particular person alive. So on that notice, I’ll be educating CPR. I’ll be educating choking strategies. Some emergency procedures you’ll be able to have to save lots of a life. So that alone provides me private pleasure that persons are studying these little strategies on the right way to save a life.
Where do you see this partnership between you and Shakara Square go within the subsequent 5 years?
I’m not one who plans too far. I take a day, one step at a time. So let’s do that first and if it really works out positive and we’re all pleased with one another, we’ll keep on. Okay. Right now, we’re nonetheless understanding one another. However, as a result of their visions at Shakara Square agrees with my imaginative and prescient. I feel we will go a great distance. Okay. Because if the visions agree, we will go a great distance.
