The Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Ikole-Ekiti has recorded a landmark achievement by becoming the first public hospital in Ekiti State to perform a successful total hip replacement.
The Medical Director of the Center, Professor Johnson Ogunlusi, disclosed this while addressing journalists in Ikole-Ekiti.
The MD explained that since the hospital was established in mid-2024, the Health Facility has rapidly expanded its clinical services and specialist capacity.
Professor Ogunlusi noted that within its first six months of operation, FMC Ikole-Ekiti carried out her first Total Knee Replacement and has now done four such total knee replacement surgeries to address severe knee pain among patients since inception.
While acknowledging that joint replacement surgeries are not new in Nigeria, he noted that their availability in a public health facility within the state marks a significant step forward for local healthcare delivery.
He emphasized that the development eliminates medical tourism and the need for many residents to travel outside Ekiti State or abroad for advanced orthopedic procedures.
The MD stated that the medical center is aligning with the Federal Government’s Renewed Hope Agenda by improving access to quality healthcare services.
He stressed that patients are treated with dignity and that professionalism and mutual respect are strictly upheld to ensure efficient service delivery.
His words, “Let me start by thanking the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, and the Governor of Ekiti State for the establishment of the Federal Medical Center in Ikole-Ekiti. The hospital was established in mid-2024, and since then we have been providing clinical services to the public.
“Within the first six months of establishment, the hospital performed total knee replacement surgeries to relieve patients of severe knee pain. So far, we have carried out about four such procedures.
Recently, we also performed a total hip replacement, the first of its kind in our center. While these procedures are not new in Nigeria, this is the first time such surgeries have been carried out in a public hospital in Ekiti State.
“We believe it is important to let the public know that these major surgeries, which many people travel outside the state or even abroad, including to India, to undergo, can now be done at the Federal Medical Center, Ikole-Ekiti. Essentially, we are bringing advanced treatment to the doorstep of the people of Ekiti and surrounding communities.
“The patient who underwent the recent total hip replacement is doing very well. She has been discharged and is already walking and recuperating beautifully. We are glad to inform Nigerians that FMC Ikole-Ekiti is fulfilling the President’s Renewed Hope Agenda by bringing quality healthcare closer to the people.
“When the hospital was established in 2024, we had only three consultants on ground. Today, we have over 24 consultants. Out of these, 13 are full-time staff of the hospital, while others are visiting specialists. Our goal is to bring specialized expertise from across the country and beyond to FMC Ikole to provide life-changing services to our patients.
“Within the short time of operation, the hospital has secured the accreditation of the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria (NMCN) to train intern nurses and the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria has equally accredited the hospital for housemanship training – the first batch of house officers were posted to the hospital last week and have since commenced their training.
“The hospital also recently established a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) for specialized newborn care in addition to the creation of many subspecialties of medicine that were hitherto non-existent in the hospital. Additionally, the hospital has remodeled and furnished the residential quarters to provide a conducive living environment for medical interns.
“Our primary concern is to ensure patients are saved first,” unlike some hospitals that may demand payment before treatment, we have a policy to treat all emergency cases first, regardless of the patient’s immediate ability to pay and testimonies abound to this.
Despite the clinical successes, the hospital faces growing challenges occasioned by the increasing patient inflow. Our rapid expansion and patients influx is met with an inadequacy of office space and residential structures for personnel and these remain good hurdles to surmount.
The MD appealed to well-meaning Nigerians at home and in the diaspora to support the hospital in this early phase through the donation of buildings and supporting infrastructure so that hospital can meet the needs of the population it is called to serve.
Speaking on the core values of the hospital, he said, “We treat patients with dignity and respect. We have four core values in this hospital. We value excellence and maintain a clean environment, both inside and outside the hospital. We provide qualitative medical care, as reflected in our ability to carry out major surgeries such as total knee and total hip replacements.
“We also value people. Patients are treated with dignity. While ensuring that patients are treated with the utmost courtesy we protect our staff from unnecessary aggression from patients and relatives.
At the same time, we maintain mutual respect to ensure efficiency and quality service delivery. Furthermore, we prioritize the welfare of our staff, recognizing that every staff member involved in patient care is important.
Our next step will be the establishment of an Assisted Reproduction unit to provide affordable fertility solutions to clients suffering from fertility related issues in our region and the country at large maintaining our culture of excellence to achieve enviable results, he added.
“Our vision is to make FMC Ikole a leading public hospital in Nigeria and a standard for what a public healthcare institution should represent”.
