Saudi Arabian healthcare provider plans to build teaching hospitals across Nigeria

MIDDLE East healthcare provider the Saudi German Hospital has indicated an interest in entering into partnerships with several Nigerian medical colleges with the aim of building several hospitals in the country.

 

Saudi German Hospital started off around 1990 when its founder, the Saudi Arabian medical doctor Dr Khaled Batterjee graduated from university in Germany and decided to introduce the concept of quality healthcare to his native country. Since then the venture has grown and this week, the hospital's business planning manager Iftakhar Asfi, visited Nigeria see how it could extend its operations into the country.

 

Mr Asfi said: “Our boss, Dr Khaled Batterjee graduated from Germany and from there he came up with the idea of starting a hospital in our region. The region had shortage of good medical facility about 25 years ago and back then, starting a hospital wasn’t an easy task but Germany was a leading nation in health care matters.

 

“Aside from the collaboration, we also want to do what we are doing in Yemen in Nigeria as in Yemen, we have been using our resources to cater for the health needs of the people because we are out to serve local communities by meeting the health needs of the people. We are aware that many Nigerians are in dire need of health services and we are here to assist.”

 

Speaking in Lagos when the representatives of the hospital hosted stakeholders in the healthcare sector at the Eko Hotels on Victoria Island, Mr Asfi said they are ready to collaborate with Nigerian hospital colleges. He added that Saudi medical colleges have working relationship with others around the globe.

 

"We are ready to collaborate with hospital colleges here as well and we don’t have any barriers to collaborating with colleges anywhere in the world. We are out to serve humanity and the community and at the same time growing in business.

 

"We have been attending to many dignitaries from Nigeria over the years and we receive more than 10,000 patients from Nigeria in Dubai only. During Hajj, we are the primary responder to emergencies and had more than 1, 000 Nigerians admitted in our hospitals during the recent calamity that happened in the holy land," Mr Asfi added.

 

He pointed out that given the number of Nigerian patients they treat in Saudi Arabia, they have decided to come and establish two hospitals in the country.  According to Mr Asfi, they are looking at starting off from Abuja and Lagos and when they are fully on ground, they would spread to other parts of the country.