162 Global medicine: A Nigerian perspective

Abstract Introduction People in low-income countries often have limited access to health care. Increasing interest in global medicine has led to a number of initiatives. Little has been published on what is felt to be most useful by the people managing the hospitals in the local community. Nigeria has a federally funded hospital system that is subsidised, but not free at point of access. Incomes in many areas are low, and this impacts on healthcare use. Methods An online google forms questionnaire was devised and sent to all Chief Medical Directors of regional federal hospitals in Nigeria. Questions included site, size, and throughput of the hospital, and information was requested on preference for type of input that was felt to be most helpful. The questionnaire was framed to garner interest in twinning a hospital with a developed world hospital, and the specific initiatives that would be of most interest. Results Eight responses were received. Hospital size ranged from less than 500 to more than 1000 beds, covering populations of up to 30 million. Neurosurgical operation numbers totaled up to 250 per year. Only one centre had a previous link with a developed country of any sort. All were supportive of twinning. Three hospitals particularly wished a link for neurosurgery, one for neurology and the rest were keen on links for all hospital specialties including oncology. The highest rated requests were for equipment, visiting clinicians to teach a new technique, and funded training opportunities. The lowest rating was for medical student exchanges. Conclusions There is interest in developing links between Nigerian Federal Hospitals and UK centres. Development of this process could lead to improvements in local healthcare.