Losing My Grand Mother To Wrong Diagnosis Led Me Into Investigative Medicine – Okpara, CEO Of Everight Diagnostic & Laboratory
… Says Nigerian Doctors Are Among The Best In The World
Recently, NewsTract Nigeria (NTN) for its belief in Development Journalism was poised to unveil the driving force behind the success story of Everight Diagnostics & Laboratory Service Limited.
In an exclusive interview with Uche Onwuchekwa, the founder and the Chief Executive Officer of Everight Diagnostic and Laboratory Services Limited, Mr Everight Okpara shared with NTN what led him into Medical Entrepreneurship and the secret of the success story.
He also spoke about Nigerian Doctors, humanitarian side of Everight, Management and Staff of the Firm, five years plans and projection among others…
1. What informed the establishment of Everight Diagnostic & Laboratory Services Ltd?
The establishment of Everight Diagnostic & Laboratory Services Ltd was informed by my passion to save life through the growth in the medical diagnostic industry in Nigeria. We wanted a laboratory that would meet the world standards in service and for medical tourism. This has been our driving force.
Growing up as a little boy, I had a very devastating experience witnessing how my loving grandmother died in anguish and pains. As little as I was all I could remember was that the Pastor attributed my granny’s ill health to evil projection and evil arrow. That harrowing experience opened my eyes to listen and became very conscious of the happenings around me.
Of course it was later I found out that my grandmother’s death was caused by a kidney related problem (renal failure). So, losing my grandmother as a result of poor and wrong diagnosis spurred me into going into investigative medicine to bridge this gap and to help save others from avoidable pains and deaths.
I also read stories about wrong and inaccurate diagnosis that caused avoidable deaths of some notable personalities. Some of them could afford any medical expenses; still they unfortunately exited when they could still have delivered so much to the father land.
Having also been exposed to special areas of Epidemiology and Biostatistics in John Hopkin University, Maryland, United States with other experiences in management and administration in Medicare delivery, I can only wear the regalia of the philosophy of sacredness of life and “No life is worth Losing”, hence came the vision of diagnosis, which is the foundation for every accurate treatment that will save lives. To the glory of God, we have continued to contribute our quota towards helping Nigerians live.
More so, it is gratifying seeing the unbelievable level of capital flight in medical tourism following lack of trust in the medical industry. It was one of the motivating factors here. My confidence is that we have the best of Doctors in different fields of medicine. Our Pharmacists and Nurses have also proven their mettle in their different areas of specialization. All that they need is encouragement and good diagnosis.
I must say that it is the achievements of these egg heads in the practice of medicine that have kept us in business. I say this because if we are accurate in our diagnosis and our Doctors are good, the end result is relief for the patient. That is where our testimonials lie. I can tell you authoritatively that Nigerian Medical practitioners are great.
2. What are the services it renders and what are the facilities that it possesses for rendering these services?
Everight Diagnostic & Laboratory Services Ltd is a leading medical laboratory and radiology services provider in Nigeria. Our medical laboratory services include: medical microbiology & parasitology, clinical biochemistry, immunology, haematology, histopathology & cytology, molecular science & genetic studies. We also offer medical imaging or radiology services, which include digital x-ray, digital mammography, ultrasonography, echocardiography and ECG. We will start offering CT and MRI services before the end of this year. The lockdown occasioned by the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic delayed the delivery of the order we had made for MRI and CT machines. We have state-of-the-state medical facilities, including Glove box level 3 Biosafty Cabinet, Biosfety Cabinet level 2, PCR hood, the Rotor Gene Q Real time PCR, 3D/4D etc. Our 3D/4D ultrasound machines and modern digital x-ray systems produce high quality digital images
3. What makes the laboratory stand out in the industry?
Some of the things that make our laboratory stand out in the industry are employment of the most qualified and experienced medical staff with unequal exposure to the latest technologies in medics. In the same manner, we have the best administrative staff. So our staff remain our greatest asset. They are ever ready to adopt and adapt to new technologies coupled with internal researches, strict adherence to internationally acceptable standard operating procedures. We do not compromise the use of highest quality materials and production of accurate medical test results at the shortest turnaround time. Our staff members are well trained, highly experienced, friendly and motivated professionals, which include consultant radiologists, consultant pathologists, consultant cardiologists, professor in medical laboratory science and other medical laboratory scientists, molecular scientists, radiographers, sonographers and healthcare administrators. Besides, we follow- to the letter- the guidelines of our regulatory bodies, such as Medical Laboratory Science Council of Nigeria, Radiographer Registration Board of Nigeria, Nigeria Center for Disease Control and ministry of health of state governments where we have our branches.
We do not compromise when it comes to equipment, materials and reagents. We are always on the lookout for the best in the market and go for them, no matter the cost. In addition, the quality of our reports endear us to doctors. Another area of our strength is our service delivery. We go beyond mere services to actually care for our patients, listen to their needs and find the right solution. We build an emotional connection with every patient, creating enthusiastic experiences.
4. What are the principles and policies of the laboratory?
The principles and policies of our laboratory are encapsulated in our laboratory quality manual, staff code of conduct, core values, and customer service philosophies and so on. We are dedicated to providing the resources necessary to maintain the laboratory quality management system and to ensure the laboratory compliance with relevant statutory requirements, applicable laws and regulations. Our core values are excellent service, total quality management and control, innovation, resourcefulness, teamwork and transparency. The laboratory is committed to continual improvement, providing valuable information for best medical care, improved surveillance and other public health actions; treating our clients equally, saves for cases of emergency and other obvious health considerations; maintaining high ethical standards and providing empathetic, confidential and professional service, keeping every client informed about his/her procedure(s) and results as legally/ethically required. We ensure that a competent workforce is maintained at all times to deliver quality results on time
5. What way would you say that the laboratory has impacted on society?
Everight Laboratory & Diagnostic Services Ltd has impacted on society in many ways. If you take a tour of our laboratories; then, you will understand why many people are visiting them for medical tourism. We have state-of-the-art medical laboratories that meet the standards obtainable abroad. This is why many wealthy individuals, who would hitherto travel abroad for medical tests, visit our laboratories for their tests – thereby reducing capital flight in Nigeria. Furthermore, thousands of students and medical graduates have benefited from our industrial training opportunities and work experience placements respectively. Many medical undergraduates, post-graduates students and lecturers from universities have benefitted from our expertise. Preparing our secondary school students in their chosen future careers as well as primary school pupils, we have opened our doors for excursions. We have been delivering health talks in many communities, organizing seminars on preventive healthcare and sponsoring educational programs
We had already developed a Molecular laboratory and we are offering tests and research on infectious diseases before the outbreak COVID-19 pandemic. This is why it was easier for us to make our facilities available for COVID-19 testing. Our laboratory funded the acquisition and distribution of over 100 hand washing machines, hand sanitizers and facemasks under Everight Healthcare Foundation in Imo state.
6. What are the awards and distinctions that it has received in the past?
We have received many awards, including award for Generosity and Support of Excellence from the Nigerian Medical Students Association (NMSA); Humanitarian Service Award from Nigerian Association of Health Science and Technology Students (NAHESTS); Vocational Service Award from the Rotary Club of Owerri Central, Rotary International, District 9140; Innovation and Entrepreneurship in Medical Laboratory Service Delivery award from the Medical Laboratory Directors of Nigeria (Imo State Chapter); Golden Service Award from the Rotary Club of Owerri Central, Rotary International, District 9142 for our significant contribution to the control of COVID – 19 in Imo State; to mention but a few. It is worthy to note that Everight Diagnostic & Laboratory Services Ltd was the second private laboratory certified and approved by Nigeria Center for Disease Control for COVID-19 testing in Nigeria, and the first Laboratory to get special approval from Medical Laboratory Council of Nigeria to offer COVID-19 testing in Nigeria. Also, it is the first private Laboratory to be commissioned by a state Governor for testing of COVID-19 in Nigeria.
7. What are the objectives that you have set for the laboratory and how far have you gone in achieving these?
Most of the objectives we set for Everight Diagnostic & Laboratory Services Ltd when we started in 2005 have been achieved. Some of our objectives are: to be a one-stop laboratory, to gain more than 60% market share in the south-east region, to ensure that test results are released to patients within 24 hours after the results are produced, to provide 24 hours services to patients, to have a set of professionals with highest level of qualifications in medical diagnoses in Africa in our employment and so on. I think we have achieved these objectives to a large extent because we are a market leader in the South East region. Our test results get to the patients within 24 hours. Besides, all our departments are manned by well trained and highly experienced professionals, who know their onions in different areas of medical diagnoses. Today, I can proudly say that our laboratory provides a diverse range of test services that are not easy to get in one laboratory elsewhere.
8. What are the challenges being faced and how are these being tackled?
Our major challenge has been lack of adequate electricity power supply. We do not get enough power supply to run our equipment. So, we have resorted to generators.
9. How has the laboratory been dealing with COVID-19 pandemic?
Since the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic, we have been taking precautionary measures to avoid the spread of the virus on our business premises. We have hand-wash stations and automatic hand sanitizer dispensers at all entrances of our offices. When NCDC started announcing positive cases of the virus, one of the first things we did to protect our staff against the virus was to divide them into two groups and made them work on two week alternate bases. We have been providing face masks to our staff and ensuring that everybody, who wants to enter our premises, is putting on face masks, washes or sanitizes their hands. We have been going the extra mile to sanitize our laboratories every day.
10. What are plans for the future?
Our plans are to increase the number of our branches from 5 to 9 and build 2 medical research institutions in Nigeria within a six year period.
