Norfolk doctor offers cut-price medical care to Nigerians

Nigeria is seen as a source of medical tourists, mostly gong to India but some travelling to the UK. In Gorleston, orthopaedic surgeon Emeka Nnene has begun offering discounted surgery to Nigerians visiting the UK at up to 50% off London prices in an attempt to provide alternatives in the growing medical tourism market. A consultant surgeon at James Paget Hospital, Gorleston in Norfolk, East Anglia with over 15 years experience, Dr Nnene is offering a special service for Nigerians who visit the UK for treatment.

Nigeria is seen as a source of medical tourists, mostly gong to India but some travelling to the UK. In Gorleston, orthopaedic surgeon Emeka Nnene has begun offering discounted surgery to Nigerians visiting the UK at up to 50% off London prices in an attempt to provide alternatives in the growing medical tourism market. A consultant surgeon at James Paget Hospital, Gorleston in Norfolk, East Anglia with over 15 years experience, Dr Nnene is offering a special service for Nigerians who visit the UK for treatment. Also a clinical orthopaedic tutor at the hospital, Dr Nnene currently takes private consultations at the facility and is seeking to expand this service. He performs a wide range of operations including joint replacements, keyhole surgery and fracture fixation. He also has admitting privileges at James Paget hospital’s private rooms for post-operative recovery and in-patient stay. The hospital is an NHS trust, and as most trusts, also accepts private patients.

Dr Nnene says, “The charges for surgery and in-patient stay are very competitive compared with those in London and in many cases could cost up to 50% less. During 2013 I will be proceeding further in my bid to advance high quality orthopaedic care and making it available and accessible in Nigeria too. I am also involved in partner relationships with hospitals in Nigeria where I can offer the benefit of consultations in Nigeria and also perform some surgical procedures. The first of these centres is the Alba Clinic along Constitution Road in Kaduna and I am co-coordinating with other centres in Abuja and other parts of Nigeria.”

Many wealthy Nigerians, especially political leaders fly to London for treatment on all sorts of ailments, ranging from surgery to routine check-ups. Some London private clinics charge as much as £1000 a day and Dr Nnene hopes to reduce these hefty amounts Nigerians pay for treatment. He also wants to help train Nigerian doctors so that some of these surgical operations can be offered within Nigeria.

The Nigerian Medical Association has added its voice to many politicians expressing concern about the growing trend of medical tourism where affluent Nigerians go abroad for medical treatment that is widely available locally. Dr Nnene adds: “I am also keen to extend my orthopaedic tutor role to Nigeria by providing an up-to date and evidence based approach in lecturing orthopaedics at some Nigerian universities.”

Nigeria is one of the strongest critics of outbound medical tourism, not for religious or ideological reasons. The main problem is government officials and private individuals who go overseas are alleged to spend over N80billion on foreign medical treatment; in a country where imports exceed exports, this is a loss of foreign currency that the country can ill afford. Nigeria is Africa’s leading oil producer; but more than half of its people live in poverty. Nigeria is keen to attract foreign investment, including hospitals, but is hindered by security concerns and an infrastructure troubled by power cuts.

All figures on numbers of outbound medical tourists from Nigeria have to be used with great care; local politicians want to exaggerate the problem, certain countries like to exaggerate how many people they get from Nigeria, some medical tourism agencies want to show a much bigger potential than there is, and some government officials like to underplay how much state money they, their extended families, and assorted friends – are using to go overseas for treatment. And everywhere in Nigeria, the three problems of corruption, tribal rivalries, and poor healthcare provision for other than the select few, all have to be thrown into the mix.