Recently, a Nigerian friend, who resides in the US, called me and asked that I enquire for him about a particular hospital in Ghana. The hospital – FOCOS Orthopaedic Hospital – was supposed to be based just outside Accra and it specialised in the correction of spinal curvature. Spinal Curvature? I had never heard of such an ailment, let alone know how common it was. Naturally, my first question to him was who needed to come to Ghana. It turned out to be him. I did a search on the internet, pulled up a map and drove up there. I was pleasantly surprised at what I saw. The hospital is tucked away from the main road leading to Aburi…yes, the same Aburi where Gowon and Ojukwu met to try and avoid our civil war. FOCOS sits on a relatively large expanse of land with neatly manicured lawns, clearly named and marked buildings – Reception, Pharmacy, Physiotherapy, Cafeteria and even Laundry.
Instead of continuing to pour ungodly amounts of money into the bottomless abyss of healthcare delivery, our governments in Nigeria should become facilitators for individual doctors who have the expertise and specialisation in particular fields, so that they can set up world-standard medical centres in Nigeria
I didn’t need to ask anybody for directions. As I drove in, the massive gates closed behind me and I parked without any tout haranguing me. I walked into the Reception and the first thing that caught my attention was the huge plaque on the wall directly in front of me. It listed the names of sponsors, donors and benefactors of this specialist hospital. At the top of the list was former New York City mayor, Michael Bloomberg. He is worth $47 billion. Next was the Sultan of Brunei. He is worth is $22 billion. Other names followed…probably about 20…but none sounded Ghanaian to me. They were mostly North Americans, Europeans and Arabs.
As I stood there transfixed, mouth agape, the receptionist walked over and with the widest smile I’d ever seen from an African hospital staff, she asked how she could help me. When I told her I wanted to find out more about the hospital and possibly schedule an appointment for my friend, she handed me a binder/brochure and offered me a seat.
In the brochure, I found that FOCOS was the brainchild of one Dr. Oheneba Boachie-Adjei, a Ghanaian who had emigrated to the US in 1971. The man completed his undergraduate studies at Brooklyn College and obtained a Doctor of Medicine degree from Columbia University’s College of Physicians and Surgeons. More enquiries revealed that Boachie-Adjei is actually known globally for his extensive knowledge of spine deformity. He specifically is renowned for his special expertise in the treatment of scoliosis, kyphosis, and spine reconstruction in adult and pediatric patients – ailments that I had never heard of until then! At some point in his life, he served as a Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at Weill Cornell Medical College and as Chief of the Scoliosis Service at the prestigious Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) in New York. He was also an Attending Orthopaedic Surgeon at both HSS and New York Presbyterian Hospital. You can hardly get more qualified than that.
But he did not let his brilliance go to waste. Neither did he forget his roots. He could have established this hospital anywhere in the US where many people would have more trust and confidence in the services provided there. A native of Kumasi, he chose to set it up in Ghana. I asked one of the staff members how Boachie-Adjei managed to put a hospital of the US standard in Africa and maintain the standard. Was the government of Ghana funding it? No. The only tangible assistance he got from the government of Ghana was approval for licence to practise medicine in the country. He prepared a realistic and believable business plan, and searched for people with good hearts like Bloomberg and the Sultan. He also was smart enough to find scores of companies from around the world willing to donate money and hospital equipment for the venture. Dr. Boachie-Adjei embarked on a very aggressive and continuous fund-raising campaign that has brought huge companies like Goldman Sachs, Medshare, Bloomberg, Biotronic, Haemonetics, Alchemy, and Allard on board. They seem happy to be associated with such a laudable project.
Once in Ghana, he set the hospital up and set the same standards of ethical handling of patients, cleanliness, thoroughness, and dedication to duty that existed in the US hospitals at which he had worked. All initial consultations were consolidated and booked (in Ghana) in such a way that enabled him to travel down to Ghana and be personally present to make diagnosis and chart treatment plans. He hired and trained other doctors – Ghanaians and foreigners – who could continue treatment when he was not around.
The hospital proudly claims on its website to have conducted “successful, life-changing surgeries” of complex spine deformity, joint replacement and other spine disorders on 2,405 patients from 32 countries. Those countries include the United States and Germany (yes!), Argentina, Turkey, Mexico, Colombia, Ethiopia, Oman and, of course, Nigeria. The hospital is also involved in research and education.
So, instead of continuing to pour ungodly amounts of money into the bottomless abyss of healthcare delivery, our governments in Nigeria should become facilitators for individual doctors who have the expertise and specialisation in particular fields, so that they can set up world-standard medical centres in Nigeria. I know more than a handful of Nigerian doctors who are based in the US and Saudi Arabia dying to come home and offer Nigerians world-class medical care. There are Nigerian medical practitioners all over the world who have the kind of world-class professional heft that would be attractive to philanthropists all around the world. And who says they must be Nigerians? They can be anybody, as long as they set it up in Nigeria. All they need is encouragement from government. How nice would it be if we can have a world-class OB/GYN medical centre somewhere in Nigeria? What about a world-class cancer treatment centre? What about a centre just for Ear, Nose and Throat?
No, the services will not be free. And they may not be cheap. But our presidents, governors and other key government officials will no longer have to surrender our national security to foreigners as a result of seeking even routine treatments in foreign countries.
Ladepo is a US-based Nigerian security expert and veteran journalist. He can be reached through oluyole2@yahoo.com
