By: Tunde Olofintila
That the ultra-modern 400-bed Afe Babalola University Multi-System Hospital (AMSH) which was commissioned at an elaborate ceremony on October 20, 2017, and endorsed by leading Healthcare Stakeholders as “the most well-equipped Hospital in Sub-Saharan Africa” is making waves is neither for nothing nor out of nothing. Her reputation is a veritable way of answering to the names it has been called and the various descriptions ascribed to it.
Afterall, the Bible, speaking about Nabal of Belial in the Book of 1 Samuel 25:25 says: “As a man’s name is, so is he”.
The place of the Multi-system Hospital was foretold from the beginning by top rate Medical Educators such as Prof. Isaac Folorunso Adewole, a former Minister for Health, who said: “This Hospital will offer us what we hitherto believe cannot happen in this country. It will also improve the poor Health Indicators in Nigeria. With what I have seen here today, this Hospital matches the best in the world, and it will certainly put an end to Medical Tourism outside Nigeria”
Cruising in the same boat with Adewole, Prof. Temitope Alonge, former Chief Medical Director, University Teaching Hospital, UCH, Ibadan, had this to say about the Hospital: “I have worked in many Hospitals both here in Nigeria and in Europe. This Hospital beats most Hospitals where I have worked in Europe. This surely will be the answer to outward Medical tourism. With what is here in this Hospital, there is no reason why any of our Doctors should want to go abroad for their Sabbatical. All they need is here”.
Dr. Yemi Johnson, the Managing Director of First Cardiology, Lagos, crowned it all during his maiden visit to Ekiti State in 2021 and the Hospital when he said: “This is my first visit to Ekiti and the ABUAD Hospital was my first stop. This is really impressive. I can say without any equivocation that this hospital has more high-tech medical equipment than all the hospitals in Lagos put together. This is most certainly the best-equipped hospital in sub-Saharan Africa”.
In his avowed determination to ensure that the Multi-system Hospital stands out as a clear leader and the toast of its peers in Africa, the Promoter of the Hospital, Aare Afe Babalola, OFR, CON, SAN, LL. D (London), Fellow, King’s College, London, populated it with the most modern and sophisticated medical equipment from Europe, America and Asia. He went further to hire the best of hands that will make it the Hospital of first choice in Africa.
To realize its dream of quality Medical Education and superlative Health Care delivery, ABUAD Multi-system Hospital is in partnership with reputable global players in the Healthcare industry including, but not limited, Project C.U.R.E and Bridge of Life (BoL) of the United States of America.
With this luxuriant antecedent, it is not surprising that the Hospital recently recorded yet another notable achievement in maternal healthcare, marking a significant moment in the hospital’s growing record of delivering quality medical outcomes in Nigeria. The milestone involves a 60-year-old woman who successfully completed her pregnancy and delivered healthy babies under the care of the AMSH Fertility Centre.
Following conception, the lucky mother received comprehensive antenatal care at AMSH from her first trimester through to delivery.
Commenting on milestone achievement, the Hospital’s Chief Medical Director, Dr. Akinola Akinmade, an Orthopaedic & Trauma Surgeon, commended the collaborative efforts between Olive Hospital and AMSH, noting that such partnerships highlight the importance of continuity of care in achieving positive health outcomes.
Akinmade said: “This case underscores how advanced reproductive technology, combined with high-quality Antenatal and Obstetric services can produce successful results even in high-risk pregnancies,”.
The AMSH Fertility Centre is equipped with modern facilities, uninterrupted power and oxygen supply, and a dedicated multidisciplinary team, enabling the safe management of complex maternal cases. The hospital continues to align with the vision of its founder, Aare Afe Babalola, SAN, to provide world-class healthcare locally and reduce the need for Nigerians to seek medical treatment abroad.
This achievement not only reflects AMSH’s commitment to excellence in patient care but also serves as an encouraging example of what is possible within Nigeria’s healthcare system when expertise, technology and dedication converge.
True to its name, the Hospital has led in multiple specialties providing cutting-edge medical and surgical services available only in the best hospitals around the globe.
Since the Hospital commenced operations in 2018, it has made giant strides in different specialties of medicine, performing cutting-edge surgical and medical procedures such as Open-Heart surgeries, Cardiac interventional procedures, Spine surgeries, Brain surgeries, Plastic and reconstruction surgeries, Hip and Knee Joint replacement surgeries and major eye surgeries.
Others are Haemodialysis, Interventional Radiology procedures, Kidney Transplantation, Renal Biopsy, and Daily medical operations in different areas of Medicine.
The high-tech medical equipment available in any hospital include but are not limited to Five (5) Modular Theatres, Three (3) MRI Machines, Toshiba Infinix -cf-i/mono-plane Cathlab machine, Intra-Aortic balloon Pump, Maquet Vario twin -HL20 Heart Lung Machine and Maquet servo air ventilator.
Others are Servo-I Adult Ventilator with compressor, Non-invasive ventilation software, Humidifier, IVF Facilities and a modern Dialysis Centre consisting of 21 state-of-the-art Dialysis Machines.
Yet others include a modern Blood Bank and Transfusion Service Centre, Ministry of Aviation-certified modern Helipad to ease transportation of patients and clients to ABUAD Multi-system Hospital and the university, a Building for the Military to aid security and special beds among several others.
The quality inherent in the quantum of the Hospital’s state-of-the-art equipment had earlier been confirmed by its first Cardio-Vascular patient, Dr. Bukola Balogun, a foreign trained and experienced Medical Doctor, in the following words:” I have been to many theatres in the world bearing in mind that I had my First Degree from Moscow, the Second from London and the Third from the United States. I have not seen any theatre better than this one. It is awesome. It is fantastic”.
Balogun who described her experience as “simply fantastic’’ commended the staff for their polite, warm and very courteous, disposition stressing that “this is how things should be”.
Her words: “Looking at the Hospital from outside, it is simply gigantic. It is a brand-new edifice. It is very clean with anti-slippery devices in place. When I was ushered into my Ward after the preliminaries, I was wondering whether I was in a Hospital Ward or a 7-star hotel. The room is spacious, with Flat screen Television, Refrigerator and Microwave among others”.
She added: “During the procedure proper, I was seen by a team of Professors who told me the dos and the don’ts. The theatre is fantastic. Each bed has its own monitor that runs various tests ranging from Blood Sugar, Blood Pressure to pulse among others.
“I have been to many theatres in the world bearing in mind that I had my First Degree from Moscow, the Second from London and the Third from the United States. I have not seen any theatre better than this one. It is awesome. It is fantastic.
“During the procedure, I saw everything that went on because I was not fully conscious. I was only mildly sedated. It was a good experience. I am lucky to be here and to be seen by Professors and Senior Doctors. It is very good that this type of facility is in Nigeria. With this, less people will travel abroad. With the Open-Heart Surgery, which I am told is going on now, this place will be great. It will be better known. I congratulate Aare Afe Babalola, a patriot and a selfless man.Surely, when there is a will, garnished with hard work, there will always be a way.
Olofintila is ABUAD’s Director of Corporate Affairs