BY PELUMI ADELE
The Director General of the National Agency for the Control of Aids (NACA) Dr. Temitope Ilori has highlighted how specialized healthcare practices, like Brain Centre, can improve overall patient outcomes through precise diagnosis and treatment plans, exploring the significance of training medical professionals in specialized fields to enhance the quality of care in Nigeria’s healthcare system.
Dr. Ilori, who made this call as a keynote speaker during the commission of the Brain Centre hospital, which is a brainchild of Dr. Temitope Farombi, stressed that neurology has remained a relatively rare specialty in Nigeria, leaving several patients under/misdiagnosed and therefore mismanaged, with less than 60 neurologists practicing in different states of the country.
“The Brain Center represents our shared commitment to creating a healthcare system that prioritizes all facets of health, including the frequently disregarded area of brain health and represents hope for a future where specialized care is available to everyone.”
The Brain Centre founder, who is also a consultant neurologist at the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, in her speech, said one in four Nigerians suffers from hypertension, and one in six has diabetes. She also warned that the country will see three times as many neurological disorders, including epilepsy, stroke, headaches, insomnia, depression, and mental health illnesses, over the course of the next five years.
“The facilities here are to ensure that you have the best recovery journey with us. We don’t want you to have any brain problem, but if it perhaps happens, we are here to support you back to recovery. We have equipment to manage your strokes, acute strokes, epilepsy, meningitis, dementia, Parkinson’s disease, musculoskeletal disorders, and nerve conditions.”
“Also, we have state-of-the-art Theater to help you to manage any neurosurgical condition like traumatic brain injury, demurrage, and even brain tumor. And beyond that we also have a physiotherapy laboratory that will help you regain your muscle strength and all your nerve strength as well as ensuring that you’re pain free.”
Farombi, who holds a PhD in Global Health from the University of West London, also added that the Brain Centre has a neurophysiology lab for EEG to check the electrophysiology of the brain as well as for EMG to check the nap conduction test. “We also do sleep studies here for those who are experiencing lack of sleep, and you’re wondering why you’re having lack of sleep; this is a one-stop shop for the best neuro services in Nigeria here at the moment in Ibadan.”
