From Anthony Nwachukwu, Lagos
Specialist eye hospital, Skipper Eye-Q Group, has expanded its operations in Nigeria with the commissioning of its theatre and operation centre at Ilupeju, Lagos for the treatment of cataract, glaucoma, while retina surgeries begin soon.
Unveiling the new theatre and an array of medical facilities Wednesday, Chairman of Skipper Eye-Q Nigeria Limited, Jitender Sachdeva, said the large number of patients in the mainland necessitated the expansion, “so that cataract surgery can be done here.”
Founder and Chief Medical Director, Dr. Ajay Sharma, said the hospital’s expansion will enable many Nigerians save cost on the huge treatment expenses abroad as the three branches – on Victoria Island, Ilupeju and Abuja bring eye care expertise closer and more affordable to Nigerians.“
This is our second centre in Nigeria and we have added superb facilities. We have theatres and do surgeries for cataract and glaucoma. We also intend to commence surgeries for retina at this facility soon,” Ajay said.
“We have treatment procedures and facilities for retina, which is a very important part of the eye. There can be changes in the retina following diabetes and other illnesses which can eventually lead to blindness.”
Ajay said the hospital was investing in very expensive equipment from the United States (U.S.), Europe and Asia, and expects “further expansion in seven or eight months,” while “looking out for more space for more investments because we know that there is a high population in need of our services.”
According to him, services in Ilupeju are more affordable compared to the charges in Victoria Island “because we want everyone to patronise our services,” while the establishment continues to explore several other strategies, including instalment payment and membership card for discounted services.
Comparing the nation’s current worsening medical brain drain to the Skipper Eye-Q breakthrough, he stated that 20 years back, Indians thought the best treatments were only available in other nations but today, India has become a medical hub globally.
“With what we have achieved in all three centres in Nigeria, there is a transition because these facilities can compete with the best in India. There is only one eye bank in Nigeria and that is a difficult situation. We have done over 30 eye transplants in our facilities.
“So, for people who think that going out of the country is the only way to get the best eye care, we can authoritatively tell them that they can get the best service in Nigeria. They will also be spending less because there will be no need for the travel expenses.
“We are also stopping capital flight because the money which goes to other countries for the service is now retained in Nigeria to grow the nation’s economy.
“We also don’t want brain drain to happen because there are good doctors in Nigeria that can work and earn good money in the country. Some Nigerian doctors train abroad and don’t want to come back, but we have Dr. Temitope Tijani – our first Nigerian doctor.
“She was initially trained in Nigeria but we also retrained her in India for every aspect of our operations. I can boldly say that she is very competent and probably better than many doctors in India.”
On her part, Dr. Tijani, who is the Medical Director of Skipper Eye-Q Nigeria, regretted that many go blind with glaucoma while gathering money for foreign treatment, but “people shouldn’t wait till they have eye problems before they check their eyes.
“We offer several eye treatments, starting from basic issues like refractive errors to the more complex situations. People with perfect vision also get to an age when they would require glasses to read. So, a lot of people are concerned about these things, hence they should get eye care.
“Injuries also lead to cataract, and glaucoma has become common in Nigeria. Glaucoma treatments are available, especially when the diagnosis is made early, so that the treatment could commence on time. Hypertension is not curable but it is controllable; the same thing applies to glaucoma.“There are also issues like retina detachment, which is a sub-specialty in ophthalmology, and we have it here at Skipper Eye-Q. When people are diabetic or hypertensive and have eye problems, we treat that, as well as tumors in the eye.”
