Why FMC Ebute-Metta is not affected by ‘Japa’ syndrome – MD

Outgoing Medical Director of the Federal Medical Centre, Ebute-Metta, Dr Adedamola Dada, says the sweeping migration of Nigerians including doctors and other medical personnel out of the country otherwise known as “japa syndrome” has not created any vacuum at the facility.

Dada, an orthopaedic surgeon, said the management has been hiring retired specialists like consultants and nurses to fill the gap of medical personnel who exited the country.

To this end, he said the FMC Ebute-Metta has been expanding its services rather than shutting down like some facilities due to lack of adequate medical personnel.

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Dada, who spoke with newsmen while reflecting on his eight years in office, said FMC Ebute-Meta is now a household in Nigeria, due to the state-of-the-art equipment and the quality of healthcare service it renders.

According to him, the facility, which previously operated only 72 beds, now boasts of 450 beds and has seen an unprecedented increase in the number of patients seeking healthcare services daily.

“When we came in, this hospital was little-known and had numerous challenges. But today, FMC Ebute-Metta is a household name because of the quality of care we now deliver.”

“At the moment, we see between 25,000 and 30,000 patients every day, and we register 3,000 to 5,000 new patients monthly. People are no longer just coming for treatment; they’re bringing others, which is a vote of confidence,” Dada said.

He said eight years ago, he inherited several operational and infrastructural challenges, which prompted his administration to adopt a strategic framework built on five critical pillars including human resource development, service quality improvement, expansion of infrastructure and services, effective financial management, and the deployment of technology to drive efficiency and quality.

Dada said the strategic framework paid off, having transformed FMC Ebute-Metta to be one of the best medical facilities in the country.

The medical expert said the hospital has upgraded into a fully paperless facility, integrating clinical and financial records to improve efficiency and eliminate revenue leakages.

“Every patient is now issued an ATM-like card linked to their financial wallet, making it possible for them to credit their accounts from anywhere in the world. We have eliminated cash handling by hospital staff,” he said.

The orthopaedic surgeon said the facility’s number of departments increased from less than five to over 18, and now hosts more than 90 specialist consultants and over 200 medical doctors.

“Our surgical capacity has improved significantly. We moved from having only two theatre suites to 12 fully operational ones. We now conduct complex surgeries, including laparoscopic and hepatobiliary operations,” Dada said.

The orthopaedic surgeon disclosed that the hospital now has a 16-bed Intensive Care Unit, with specialised pediatric and general ICUs, and a 24-hour dialysis centre with 16 functional machines.

On power supply, Dada expressed concern that the facility spends an estimated N20 million monthly on electricity despite receiving only three hours of public power supply per day.

Dada said the facility usually consumed up to 80,000 litres of diesel monthly to power essential medical services.

The outgoing MD, however, said the hospital now enjoys 24-hour power supply having turned into self-generation of electricity.

“We are the only federal public hospital that receives two to three hours of public power supply, but we provide 24-hour power because we are automated and can’t function without electricity. When we wanted to switch our service to automation, many people questioned whether it would be attainable due to the epileptic power supply in the country.

“We didn’t allow that to limit us; we factored in a power delivery mechanism and generated 22 hours of power supply on our own over the last seven years. Though this development has eaten deep into the hospital’s finances, it is very essential for our services,” he said.