Navy, Surgeons Want Federal Govt To End Medical Tourism

The Nigerian Navy and the Arthroscopic and Sports Medicine Society of Nigeria, have called on the federal government to upgrade specialist hospital facilities across the country to discourage knee injury medical tourism.

Speaking after an arthroscopic surgeons’ conference in Calabar, the stakeholders said improved facilities will enable experts to deliver quality care and reduce overseas treatment for knee and orthopedic cases.

At the joint medical outreach that ended yesterday in Calabar, Acting Commander of Navy Reference Hospital, Calabar, Captain Jonathan Dunya, said the goal was to “stop knee surgery medical tourism” by discouraging patients with critical cases from traveling abroad.

He stressed that the outreach also aimed to showcase the hospital’s capacity and facilitate knowledge transfer.

“We are very privileged to have these experts here to help in knowledge transfer and to also help in recovery and improvement,” the military surgeon added.

Dunya said surgeons were flown in from different parts of the country for the one-day session, in line with the Navy’s mandate to support host communities.

He urged early medical intervention, saying “if you have issues regarding ligaments or fractures or whatever it is, they should not be scared. They should come to the reference hospital for proper medical check-up and possibly review.”

In his remarks, Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon at National Orthopaedic Hospital Lagos and President of the Arthroscopic and Sports Medicine Society, Dr Ranti Babadola supported the call for upgrade of hospitals.

He described the event as part of the society’s annual workshops and called on the government to create appropriate facility for the delivery of quality healthcare.”

Conference Coordinator, Dr Onyebuchi Osakwe of UCTH, said most cases involved knee injuries common among athletes and active individuals.

Twelve Cross River residents, including Navy personnel, received free surgery for torn ligaments, meniscus injuries and chronic knee pain during the outreach.