Medical Tourism: Afe Babalola, Aster Hospitals In Partnership

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Aster Hospital

A foreign health services provider, Aster Group of Hospitals and Clinics have team up withba  Afe Babalola University Teaching Hospital (ABUADTH) to rescue Nigeria from perennial  medical tourism.

Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Aster Group, Dr. Harish Pillai, described ABUADTH as a quality hospital that boasts of one of the best medical facilities on the African continent.

Pillai said his group was in Nigeria at the request of the Founder of Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti (ABUAD), Aare Afe Babalola, to deploy the best medical personnel to the hospital.

He said Aster Group is an international brand in the health sector and has presence in countries like United Arab Emirates, Oman, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Jordan, Philippines and India.

Pillai said the hospitals managed by the group receive large number of Nigerians many of whom tabled the request to have the expertise in Nigeria hospitals.

He added: “We have a plan to collaborate with Nigerian doctors here to train them, nurses and other paramedics to make ABUADTH self-sufficient in human resources.

“We congratulate Aare Afe Babalola for making this health facilities available. We will deploy our Chief Operating Officer here within a month.

“You know this hospital is located on a highway and we will train the personnel in trauma care, neurosurgical services, among others.

“We also plan to bring pediatric surgeons here so that Nigerian children will no longer be taken abroad for life-saving surgeries.

“Our role is to assist the local personnel to grow on the job and in five years time,  patients from other parts of Africa will be coming home here.”

Babalola said he was passionate about reducing medical tourism abroad which necessitated the establishment of the ultramodern hospital.

He said: “Their (Aster Group’s) consultants will come here periodically and in the process minimise the amount paid abroad as medical expenses.

“A patient who spends average of N5 million going overseas will get treatment here at a cheaper rate.

“With this,  we are bringing quality healthcare to the doorsteps of our people.”