FROM across the oval table, Dr. Tunde Okewale, chief medical director of St. Ives Hospital’s striking presence can be felt. His features stick out with comely looks. His aura wafts through the environment. It’s warm and welcoming. He stands up from his sitting position and smiles innocently. He looks through the window to see the other side of the road.
Outside, members of staff are finalising arrangements for today’s event — commissioning of St. Ives Hospital on the island. The ultra modern hospital is situated on Maitama Sule Street, Ikoyi, Lagos. The wife of Lagos State governor, Dame Abimbola Fashola, would commission the well-equipped hospital.
“There is no difference between what we have on the mainland and this,” he says. The soft-spoken physician draws a deep breath… “This facility is just to make it more convenient for our patients in the island. We want to bring our hospital nearer to them.”
Okewale says he embarked on the project because of the increasing trend of Nigerians always rushing abroad to seek medical treatment, thus creating the impression that they can’t get treated in their own country.
His phone rings. He reaches for it. “Yeah,” he retorts. He calls out one of his office assistants, who brings a bottle of mineral water for his guest. With the hint of a shy smile, he adds, “I’m in a meeting tell anybody who wants to see me to wait.”
Though he is into fertility practice, Okewale does not want people to look at it as if that’s all the hospital does. Two years earlier, he had opened another multimillion facility in Opebi, Ikeja.
“The new hospital is to provide specialist care for patients. It is a platform where every specialist can achieve their best.”
He continues, “the new hospital, equipped with state of the art facilities, is to meet the needs of women, children and the family in the areas of obstetrics and gynaecology and surgery.”
According to Okewale, “everything is under a roof in the hospital from X-ray to scan. Once the patient has made up his mind to go to the hospital, he must be assured that all facilities are at a place for his needs. There will be circumstances where one may be transferred, but such would be very special are rare cases because no hospital in the world has all what is needed under its roof.”
You think the facility is only for the affluent?
He says, jokingly, “the truth of the matter is that the majority of those who patronise us are not millionaires. They are just ordinary citizens who value their health. The structures people see here could intimidate people, but the important thing is that they get value for whatever amount they are paying.”
Okewale says a lot of resources are sunk in generating power, and his utmost prayer is for electricity problem to be fixed so as to lessen the burdensome overhead.
SOME years back, he had started a Free Health Foundation, which aims at providing free health care for individuals who are not currently covered by any forms of health scheme — government or private.
With a diction that sticks out in rhyming lore, Okewale says in a very warm tone, “whatever the reasons, many of such individuals are known to us in our various walks of life. The ailments that usually incapacitates and sometimes kill such individuals are basic healthcare issues, which are easily treatable and preventable if they had access to quality healthcare services.”
He says, “it is painful and unacceptable in this day and age to hear of deaths due to malaria typhoid, bacterial infections, childbirth, ulcers, hypertension, diabetes and other minor diseases that are easily diagnosed, prevented and treatable, just because of lack of finance, unemployment and, or ignorance. St. Ives Free Health Foundation works in partnership with benefactors, which comprises individual philanthropists, other charitable organisations and corporate bodies.”
The sponsor (individuals, corporate bodies, other charitable organisations) nominates a minimum of 10 beneficiaries openly or anonymously for the scheme. The Foundation helps to nominate beneficiaries on its list. It furnishes benefactors the details of the sponsored beneficiaries if required. The benefactor is expected to pay N1000 per person per month. The Foundation matches and exceeds the amount depending on the health needs of the beneficiaries.
Also, from September to December of every year, the hospital slashes the amount charged on In Vitro Fertilisation (IVF) so as to make it more affordable to many.
On June 7, 2008, his hospital’s first test tube baby, a boy, Christian, weighing 3.0 kilogrammes and measuring 50 centimetres in length, was delivered after 37 weeks of pregnancy.
He explains with a deep chuckle, “we offer Gynaecological services including infertility investigations and treatment ranging from ovulation induction, ultrasound follicular tracking to assisted reproductive techniques such as intra uterine insemination, Donor insemination, Gamette intra Fallopian transfer (GIFT) Peritoneal, Oocyte sperm transfer (POST) and IVF-GT, ICSI.”
The physician says, “we do not waste time, money and effort by concentrating on a long list of fanciful tests. Apart from the basic infertility tests which are necessary in the initial evaluation, extended investigations and tests do not get women pregnant and usually do not help much in deciding the best treatment for couples.”
Okewale says, “we focus on IVF treatment protocols that is easy, simple, safe, less stressful and with a high pregnancy rate because we are confident of the fact that IVF technology is better at solving infertility problem rather than a long list of unnecessary diagnostic tests.”
He asserts, “couples that come to infertility doctors for help want to have babies, not extended investigations and having to wait too long in achieving their objective. It is bad enough being infertile but going through tests that add no value to the outcome of the procedure drains the couples emotionally and financially.”
He draws a deep breath and says, “in Nigeria, about 25 per cent of couples in their fertile age group are the sufferers of infertility. Whilst about 40 per cent of infertile couples will get pregnant by themselves, by changes in their lifestyles and by the standard gynaecological treatments up to 60 per cent will not.”
Okewale says, “our mission is to provide an advanced and competitive IVF and Fertility Services of international standard with a high pregnancy rate and at an affordable cost to couples.”
On IVF treatment, he reflects: “In order for pregnancy to occur, an egg has to be released from the ovary and unite with a sperm. Normally this union called fertilisation occurs within the fallopian tube, which joins the uterus (womb) to the ovary. However, in IVF, the union occurs in a laboratory after eggs and sperm have been collected. Embryos are then transferred to the uterus to continue growth.”
The physician says, “the administration of fertility drugs, monitoring of the circle, collection of eggs, mixing egg and sperm together outside the woman’s body in a culture dish or test tube. Any resulting embryos are left to grow and the best embryos two to three are then transferred into the woman’s womb. Any remaining embryo of good quality may be frozen for future use.”
What does the process involve?
“You know the saying? When there’s a will, there’s a way. IVF is a technique in which egg cells are fertilised by sperm outside the woman’s womb, in-vitro. It is a major treatment in infertility when other methods of assisted reproductive technology have failed. The process involves hormonally controlling the ovulatory process, removing ova (eggs) from the woman’s ovaries and letting sperm fertilise them in a fluid medium. The fertilised egg (zygote) is then transferred to the patient’s uterus with the intent to establish a successful pregnancy.”
FOR someone who has had more than half of childhood ambition fulfilled, there is much to be expected. Okewale qualified as a medical doctor at the University of Ibadan. His postgraduate training and practice as an obstetrician and gynaecologist was at the Leeds, Manchester and Oxford regional health authorities respectively within the National Health It is bad enough being infertile but going through tests that add no value to the outcome of the procedure drains the couples emotionally and financially. Keeping the treatment complex however helps some clinics to justify the abnormally high fees they charge.
Services (NHS) UK.
After a practice spanning 10 years in the UK, he came back home to contribute his quota to the development of the healthcare service in Nigeria.
The fellow of the Royal College of Obstetrician and Gynaecologist (UK) is also a member of the Faculty of Family Planning and Reproductive Health Care (UK).
Outside, members of staff are finalising arrangements for today’s event — commissioning of St. Ives Hospital on the island. The ultra modern hospital is situated on Maitama Sule Street, Ikoyi, Lagos. The wife of Lagos State governor, Dame Abimbola Fashola, would commission the well-equipped hospital.
“There is no difference between what we have on the mainland and this,” he says. The soft-spoken physician draws a deep breath… “This facility is just to make it more convenient for our patients in the island. We want to bring our hospital nearer to them.”
Okewale says he embarked on the project because of the increasing trend of Nigerians always rushing abroad to seek medical treatment, thus creating the impression that they can’t get treated in their own country.
His phone rings. He reaches for it. “Yeah,” he retorts. He calls out one of his office assistants, who brings a bottle of mineral water for his guest. With the hint of a shy smile, he adds, “I’m in a meeting tell anybody who wants to see me to wait.”
Though he is into fertility practice, Okewale does not want people to look at it as if that’s all the hospital does. Two years earlier, he had opened another multimillion facility in Opebi, Ikeja.
“The new hospital is to provide specialist care for patients. It is a platform where every specialist can achieve their best.”
He continues, “the new hospital, equipped with state of the art facilities, is to meet the needs of women, children and the family in the areas of obstetrics and gynaecology and surgery.”
According to Okewale, “everything is under a roof in the hospital from X-ray to scan. Once the patient has made up his mind to go to the hospital, he must be assured that all facilities are at a place for his needs. There will be circumstances where one may be transferred, but such would be very special are rare cases because no hospital in the world has all what is needed under its roof.”
You think the facility is only for the affluent?
He says, jokingly, “the truth of the matter is that the majority of those who patronise us are not millionaires. They are just ordinary citizens who value their health. The structures people see here could intimidate people, but the important thing is that they get value for whatever amount they are paying.”
Okewale says a lot of resources are sunk in generating power, and his utmost prayer is for electricity problem to be fixed so as to lessen the burdensome overhead.
SOME years back, he had started a Free Health Foundation, which aims at providing free health care for individuals who are not currently covered by any forms of health scheme — government or private.
With a diction that sticks out in rhyming lore, Okewale says in a very warm tone, “whatever the reasons, many of such individuals are known to us in our various walks of life. The ailments that usually incapacitates and sometimes kill such individuals are basic healthcare issues, which are easily treatable and preventable if they had access to quality healthcare services.”
He says, “it is painful and unacceptable in this day and age to hear of deaths due to malaria typhoid, bacterial infections, childbirth, ulcers, hypertension, diabetes and other minor diseases that are easily diagnosed, prevented and treatable, just because of lack of finance, unemployment and, or ignorance. St. Ives Free Health Foundation works in partnership with benefactors, which comprises individual philanthropists, other charitable organisations and corporate bodies.”
The sponsor (individuals, corporate bodies, other charitable organisations) nominates a minimum of 10 beneficiaries openly or anonymously for the scheme. The Foundation helps to nominate beneficiaries on its list. It furnishes benefactors the details of the sponsored beneficiaries if required. The benefactor is expected to pay N1000 per person per month. The Foundation matches and exceeds the amount depending on the health needs of the beneficiaries.
Also, from September to December of every year, the hospital slashes the amount charged on In Vitro Fertilisation (IVF) so as to make it more affordable to many.
On June 7, 2008, his hospital’s first test tube baby, a boy, Christian, weighing 3.0 kilogrammes and measuring 50 centimetres in length, was delivered after 37 weeks of pregnancy.
He explains with a deep chuckle, “we offer Gynaecological services including infertility investigations and treatment ranging from ovulation induction, ultrasound follicular tracking to assisted reproductive techniques such as intra uterine insemination, Donor insemination, Gamette intra Fallopian transfer (GIFT) Peritoneal, Oocyte sperm transfer (POST) and IVF-GT, ICSI.”
The physician says, “we do not waste time, money and effort by concentrating on a long list of fanciful tests. Apart from the basic infertility tests which are necessary in the initial evaluation, extended investigations and tests do not get women pregnant and usually do not help much in deciding the best treatment for couples.”
Okewale says, “we focus on IVF treatment protocols that is easy, simple, safe, less stressful and with a high pregnancy rate because we are confident of the fact that IVF technology is better at solving infertility problem rather than a long list of unnecessary diagnostic tests.”
He asserts, “couples that come to infertility doctors for help want to have babies, not extended investigations and having to wait too long in achieving their objective. It is bad enough being infertile but going through tests that add no value to the outcome of the procedure drains the couples emotionally and financially.”
He draws a deep breath and says, “in Nigeria, about 25 per cent of couples in their fertile age group are the sufferers of infertility. Whilst about 40 per cent of infertile couples will get pregnant by themselves, by changes in their lifestyles and by the standard gynaecological treatments up to 60 per cent will not.”
Okewale says, “our mission is to provide an advanced and competitive IVF and Fertility Services of international standard with a high pregnancy rate and at an affordable cost to couples.”
On IVF treatment, he reflects: “In order for pregnancy to occur, an egg has to be released from the ovary and unite with a sperm. Normally this union called fertilisation occurs within the fallopian tube, which joins the uterus (womb) to the ovary. However, in IVF, the union occurs in a laboratory after eggs and sperm have been collected. Embryos are then transferred to the uterus to continue growth.”
The physician says, “the administration of fertility drugs, monitoring of the circle, collection of eggs, mixing egg and sperm together outside the woman’s body in a culture dish or test tube. Any resulting embryos are left to grow and the best embryos two to three are then transferred into the woman’s womb. Any remaining embryo of good quality may be frozen for future use.”
What does the process involve?
“You know the saying? When there’s a will, there’s a way. IVF is a technique in which egg cells are fertilised by sperm outside the woman’s womb, in-vitro. It is a major treatment in infertility when other methods of assisted reproductive technology have failed. The process involves hormonally controlling the ovulatory process, removing ova (eggs) from the woman’s ovaries and letting sperm fertilise them in a fluid medium. The fertilised egg (zygote) is then transferred to the patient’s uterus with the intent to establish a successful pregnancy.”
FOR someone who has had more than half of childhood ambition fulfilled, there is much to be expected. Okewale qualified as a medical doctor at the University of Ibadan. His postgraduate training and practice as an obstetrician and gynaecologist was at the Leeds, Manchester and Oxford regional health authorities respectively within the National Health It is bad enough being infertile but going through tests that add no value to the outcome of the procedure drains the couples emotionally and financially. Keeping the treatment complex however helps some clinics to justify the abnormally high fees they charge.
Services (NHS) UK.
After a practice spanning 10 years in the UK, he came back home to contribute his quota to the development of the healthcare service in Nigeria.
The fellow of the Royal College of Obstetrician and Gynaecologist (UK) is also a member of the Faculty of Family Planning and Reproductive Health Care (UK).
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