The University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, Oyo state, is the first teaching hospital in Nigeria, and it lacks a basic diagnostic machine: the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machine. This has put a strain on patients who require proper diagnosis and treatment.
Being a radiologist, one would expect getting an MRI investigation done to be a walk in the park. This is not the case for Ademola Joseph, a 37-year-old radiologist and father of two.
Joseph has a towering figure but is now slightly bending due to his knee injury during a football match last August. He walks with an uncomfortable limp, making occasional grimaces. He was visibly in pain as he interacted with the reporter.
“After the injury, my doctor recommended an MRI investigation before he could start treatment. The test is important for him to see clearly what might have gone wrong there,” he said, pointing to the affected knee.
After the injury, his work and personal engagements suffered remarkably, just like his knee.
Entrance to the MRI centre, but patients can no longer access its services.
“The MRI machine in this hospital (UCH) has been out of use for several years; so, the only alternative I have is to get the test done in a private facility. But it is so expensive that it would require me to take a loan. Before now, it was a matter of simply walking in and having the test done at UCH,” he said.
Joseph has been a radiologist for almost a decade. He feels betrayed by the healthcare system, which cannot take care of his medical needs despite his diligent service.
An MRI machine is critical in the diagnosis of certain conditions, such as injuries, tumours, cysts, certain heart problems, and more.
It uses strong magnetic fields and radio waves to create detailed and clear images of the organs and tissues within the body.
“It is one of the most advanced forms of medical investigation,” says Godwin Ogbole, a professor and head of the radiology department at UCH.
THE PREMIER HOSPITAL
The University College Hospital, a foremost tertiary health institution in Nigeria, was established in August 1952. The hospital was launched to close the training gap of medical healthcare professionals in Nigeria and Sub-Saharan Africa.
The MRI centre, located in the south-east wing of the hospital, was inaugurated by former President Olusegun Obasanjo in 2005. But it only worked for eight years.
In 2014, another MRI machine was inaugurated by Temitope Alonge, the serving chief medical director. It was a private-public partnership between ERS Nigeria Limited, a Lagos-based medical supplier, and the UCH.
It stopped working in 2019.
While there are more advanced MRI machines depending on power, the machine in UCH is 0.2T (Tesla is the standard for measuring the magnetic field strength of a machine).
Globally, a basic MRI scanner costs $150,000 but can exceed several million dollars. Research showed that Japan has the most MRI scanners per capita, with 48 machines for every 100,000 people.
“Currently, about 80% of Africa’s population does not have access to MRI. Even if they can afford it, the service is not available,” Ogbole said.
He noted that over 10 countries in Africa do not have a single MRI and the 1.5 Tesla MRI machines in Nigeria are concentrated mostly among the top 5% of the population who live in urban areas like Lagos, Abuja, and Port Harcourt.
Patients now have to look for means to carry out MRI investigations in private facilities, which are usually more expensive than similar services offered at UCH when the machines were active. For others who cannot afford private services, they are forced to live with their conditions.
Adeola Adebisi had to suspend her compulsory national youth service for over six months. She has been battling with back pain for five years. She was diagnosed with scoliosis, a condition where some parts of the spine are curved; however, most recent investigations showed other concerns. In 2020, she was told to do an MRI for a more comprehensive evaluation.
“My sister and I walked into the MRI centre with a request letter from the doctor. We met the doors open and the lights on, but the MRI machine was not working,” she told TheCable.
Adebisi said that although there is a building dedicated to MRI scans on the hospital premises, the machine is out of service.
“I was told that it had been faulty for a long time, so we were told to find another facility for the scan,” she said.
“Then I was informed that the only place in Ibadan with a functional MRI machine was at a private diagnostic centre.”
Adebisi said she visited the centre but couldn’t afford the scan as she had already spent a lot on the other tests.
“The scan had to be put on hold for about three years. With the help of my family, the money was eventually raised, and I went back to the centre to find out that the price had ballooned,” Adebisi lamented.
“I spent almost N200,000 ($187) on the test. It was really painful because the delay went on for too long, and I had to live with the pain through the years.
“Every time I went for my appointments at UCH, I used to see different patients with their MRI results from private labs or even some from other states.
“People would make jokes about why they have to spend that much money on MRIs when they don’t even have enough for food.”
Emmanuel Abiodun sustained an injury in 2018. He had an x-ray done as he was feeling some discomfort in his right knee.
His X-ray result pointed to an abnormality in the patella region, which needed an MRI for confirmation.
“It happened at the time the machine was down. I was forced to start using other forms of treatment like exercise and therapy to reduce pain,” he said.
“An MRI scan is an important clinical procedure, and it would have been nice for me to get it done then to know what the problem was and if surgery was needed.”
