Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Idi-Aba, Abeokuta: A Medical Tourism full of surprises.

On Monday, April 20^th, 2015 I visited Federal Medical Centre, Idi Aba, Abeokuta, Ogun State with my aged mother who has been complaining of pains in her right hip based on the recommendation of one of my uncles’wife who was at the centre some years back. 

Honestly, I was not expecting anything better in terms of medical services than others we had been referred in the past even though my uncle’s wife account of her personal experience was promising, positive, heart-warming and hope rendering.

The journey was smooth from Sango-Ota to Abeokuta, about 45/555minutes and we got to the centre around 8.39am. At the gate my uncle’s wife called a staff she knows in the hospital with the hope of giving us free passage and better attention as it is normally done in most government establishments in Nigeria but personal contact with the centre’s staff proved otherwise and obviously showed that free passage was absolutely unnecessary. 

Quote me you do not need free passage to get whatever medical attention you needed at the centre, what is required of you as a new entrant into the medical complex is a registration at the General Outpatients Department (GOPD) centre. Please you forgive me if I did  not name or do not seem to know what GOPD stands for but I know it is the starting point for new comers like my mum.

We got into the GOPD and we were asked to queue by sitting down with other patients, new and old ones on well-arranged benches. Due to my mother’s plight I had to queue for her and the people on the bench began to move forward until my mother’s turn. When I got to the cashier, a young man of about 40-45years told me to pay the sum of four hundred (400) naira for card, other registration requirements as well as consulting fee. From the cashier we were asked to wait again and after 5-10minutes my mother’s name was called for additional personal data documentation which a lady in the next office to the cashier’s used to open a medical account file for my mother.

Done with her interrogation, we waited another 20 or 30minutes more (depending on the number of patients on ground and being a Monday, the first day of the week people who queued to see doctors were about 30 or more. From experience Mondays are said to be the busiest day at the centre) before we were called for her blood pressure (BP) reading, infrared temperature measurement and weighing (body weight measurement). 

After what looks like another 30 or 45minutes, our files were arranged and a nurse called us in to see a doctor. Three (3) patients including my mother were assigned to a male doctor who should be within the age range of 45/50years. As with the other hospitals I had gone with my mum, I was expecting an immediate referral from the young doctor to an orthopaedic specialist but was disappointed when the doctor began to cross-examine my mother. As he asked questions, he made note on some white medical sheets attached to our file. When he was through the papers were full of medical observations. He later told us to go for an x-ray shots as well as made some drugs prescription for my mum’s condition. Before we left his office he booked us on another appointment for the day the x-ray will be ready.

I got some others surprise when we got to the x-ray department and pharmacy. We were asked to pay N1, 600.00 for the hip x-ray instead of N4, 500.00/5,000.00 or more we had paid in private medical concerns we had visited previously. What we paid at the pharmacy was also negligible compared to what we had parted with in some hospitals in the past.         

Based on the x-ray department staff disclosure, the x-ray will not be ready until next Wednesday, April, 23^rd, 2015 and we returned to the medical centre two days after the first visit. We went through the GOPD routine again before seeing a female doctor who looked into my mother’s x-ray report, also made some notes on my mother’s medical file that led to some drugs prescription before referring us to the ortho-clinic complex within the centre. 

Before we left her office, we were given a small card that had some medical fraction on it which she instructed us to present to a nurse sitting directly opposite her office. From there we were directed to the medical records room also within the GOPD complex. At the record office we were asked to pay N200.00 to open a comprehensive medical file for my mum. The staff in charge of specialists appointment booking later booked us for Tuesday, April 28^th, 2015 to see an ortho specialist.

Experience with the Ortho-specialists was equally memorable and deserves commendation. The specialist was professional in his consultation and did not promote nor projects any personal interests. He dealt with my mum with outmost patience and attention. He gave mama some bone reinforcing drugs prescription before advising on the possibility and the benefit of complete hip operation, the total cost of which amounts to half of what other hospitals were charging us.

The essence of going this far in put up this piece together is to spread the good news in the Nigerian healthcare which is known for uncharitable news reports that centres around poor service attitude of the health personnel. I do not know of other Federal Medical Centres’ in Nigeria but I found the services at the Federa Medical Centre, Idi Aba, Abeokuta above average and without any bias, I recommend the medical centre to anyone who desires better medical attention or lacks confidence in the ability of other public healthcare facilities. 

Your experience will definitely be as good as mine in terms of nurses attention at the GOPD, doctors contact, laboratory and other departmental experiences as well as the cost of drugs that I found cheaper compared to other hospitals visited so far. Overall, medical service is laudable and cost at the centre (and I think is the same in other Federal Medical Centres across Nigeria) is bearable and in most cases affordable depending on the patient’s health condition.

However, as fantastic as I found the centre, it has one weakness I heard people talked about and this has to do with the issue of strike i.e labour crisis which you and I know cannot be blamed on the centre’s management, in most cases it used to be across Nigeria or national. This is an issue between the employer and the employees. 

According to patients’ experiences, during the strike sessions, patients bear the fang and suffer as there is partial or total suspension of medical services provision. Except for this shortcoming, I can say it again and again, the centre’s services are fantastic and if you live within the reach of the centre you will be doing yourself a lot of good seeking the medical attention at the centre. This becomes advantageous if you have a health issue that needs specialist (medical) attention and management.

While it will not be out of place to commend the Federal Government of Nigeria for putting up these centres across Nigeria, it is pertinent and equally germane to call on the Nigerian government not to relent on her efforts in terms of improving healthcare sector in Nigeria. If this is one important sector in social services provision receives better attention of the government, mass of the Nigerian population will be better for it as there would not be strike that will result in deaths of patients who may need specialists attention. 

Federal Medical Centre, Idi-Aba, Abeokuta is a medical edifice that must be supported and strengthened to continue to provide it is health services to the people.