In a healthcare panorama typically 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 important. Peninsula Medicare Limited, a multi-specialty diagnostic and medical facility, is partnering with media and way of life model Shakara Square to advertise preventive healthcare by way of a group 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 twenty 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 aims ?
Peninsula Medicare Limited is a non-public diagnostic and healthcare facility positioned in Festac Town, Lagos, Nigeria. It capabilities as a complete diagnostic centre and specialised healthcare clinic. We function below the slogan ‘Patient-Focused Care… Every Step of the Way.’ Based on its scientific mission and operational practices, its core aims 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 providers and go residence. So it’s not for folks to return 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 a whole lot of sufferers in a day. So I’m grateful to God for that progress.
Looking again from whenever 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 return again, most of my mates thought I used to be going loopy. They stated: ‘Why are you leaving the UK to come back to Nigeria with this hectic atmosphere and everything?’ But it’s like when you’ve got a calling. And I came upon right here in Nigeria, what we do is healing medication, which is a really pricey, costly and emotionally draining type of remedy. But the thought right here is to show and preach preventive medication. 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 return again to. Most of my sufferers come again as a result of they’re handled like sufferers, not like anyone. That’s why we have now this focus right here, affected person targeted 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 assume that folks rely extra on conventional medication slightly correct healthcare?
The value of healthcare in Nigeria is exorbitant in comparison with different international locations. I can let you know that many of the sufferers who ought to have come to the hospital could not have the ability to afford it, or will be unable to afford it. And would slightly select another half-baked medical practices like going to the normal medication healers simply because they can’t afford this. I feel the federal government ought to are available right here and truly do loads to assist. Government must subsidise the price loads 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 price? It’s not me. It goes again to the affected person. Because I’ve obtained to offer the providers. Cost of diesel is astronomical now. So this is only one issue of the entire bills being run right here. And you discuss in regards to the overhead prices of operating this property right here, and the workers; its loads. And our costs have a tendency to only barely add slightly bit on high of it, in comparison with different locations that cost excessive.
I’m certain many of the services 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 manner they will nonetheless afford it ?
We do much more right here. In this one facility and the overhead value is shared by all of the procedures. That helps to carry down the prices. You can see we have now numerous procedures to be accomplished right here. So these procedures share the price of operating this enterprise. And that helps scale 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 likely to carry down our costs; simply to interrupt even and pay the salaries. And then retains all people completely happy.
Why did you resolve to associate with Shakara Square to do health stroll occasion?
First and foremost, when my advertising and marketing officer Nkechi, introduced the thought, what struck me, to start with, is the title ‘Shakara.’ It’s a catchy title. That’s branding. Branding gross sales.So that title, ‘Shakara,’ caught me. And Ijeoma Ude, the founding father of Shakara Square.ng is kind of amiable and likeable. That’s on the private aspect. But on the company aspect, 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 group. So we’re in it.
What do you plan to attain after the occasion or through the occasion?
First and foremost, we’re going to supply some free medical checks for the individuals. We’re going to have an optometrist, a dentist, some medical personnel to take blood strain and verify blood sugar and possibly malaria. That alone helps the group. We wish to give again to the group. This is our major group. We’re going have our ambulance service going after the runners to assist out. Like I stated, we’re solely three years outdated right here and the extra we’re out in the neighborhood, the extra folks get to know us and know what we preach. And on one other private observe, 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 information of CPR lets you maintain the individual alive. So on that observe, I’ll be instructing CPR. I’ll be instructing choking strategies. Some emergency procedures you possibly can have to save lots of a life. So that alone provides me private pleasure that individuals are studying these little strategies on methods 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 high quality and we’re all pleased with one another, we’ll keep it up. Okay. Right now, we’re nonetheless realizing one another. However, as a result of their visions at Shakara Square agrees with my imaginative and prescient. I feel we are able to go a great distance. Okay. Because if the visions agree, we are able to go a great distance.
