Ola, a ‘flying’ doctor to the rescue!
She wrote her final medical examinations at 21, emerging one of the youngest medical doctors in the whole of England. Now 24, she has published her first book and received many post-graduate training accolades in Trauma and Emergency Medicine. Besides, she is a trainee helicopter pilot; an entrepreneur whose area of specialisation is critical care/trauma and pre-hospital medicine. Meet Ola Orekunrin, CEO/MD, Flying Doctors Nigeria.
The Flying Doctors Nigeria is an air ambulance service. This means they provide rapid transportation for victims of medical emergencies from remote areas to larger urban areas where they can access treatment. It is a service that is invaluable to the offshore/oil and gas industry as well as many large manufacturing and telecoms firms that have staff in remote areas. Indeed, the doctors fly patients along with specialist flight physicians into Lagos and Abuja for treatment and even to South Africa/London if the level of care available in Nigeria is not sufficient.
For the record, Ola grew up in a household were neither of her foster parents went to university. They all lived in a small town called Lowestoft. One of the most influential people in her life is her foster mother Doreen, who Ola admits taught her to aspire to develop herself. “I was extremely inquisitive growing up, and had many questions that she did not know the answers to. She bought me an Encyclopaedia so I could look up the answers to all my questions. She gave me the tools to learn on my own and helped me learn the value of first identifying the problem and then finding the tools to create a solution,” she explains.
“We were a working class family and sometimes struggled to make ends meet, but against all the odds I passed my A-Levels with flying colours and started my degree at the University of York . After supporting myself through working in retail, modeling and admin, I graduated 6 years later as one of the youngest doctors in the entire country. I immediately set about trying to buttress my record of excellence by publishing my first book, various articles in the British medical journal, and sitting on boards that governed medical education and training. I have been privileged to receive many awards for my work in research and clinical medicine.” She added.
Asked why and when she started Flying Doctors Nigeria and she explains “I started the company two years ago when I realised that one of the most fundamental problems that the Nigerian healthcare system faces is getting the right patient, to the right facility within the correct timeframe.”
Wondering how she combines flying the helicopter with her duty as a doctor? Ola explains: “It is pretty easy to combine both. Many doctors fly fixed or rotary wing in the UK - especially those that work on the air ambulance- as a good knowledge of aviation is required for the job.”
To say that the health sector in Nigeria is faced with diverse challenges is stating the obvious. Ola explains her take on this and proffer’s solutions: “The healthcare system in Nigeria can be seen as a unique opportunity for physicians all over the country to rub minds and look at ways to improve the system. In my opinion, it needs to be physician-led and probably private-sector-led, with the government providing basic support. Healthcare is incredibly expensive, we need to look at models in India/Mexico/Brazil that facilitate it being less so.”
Obviously, becoming a medic at a young age did not come so easy for Ola, who explains that “I worked incredibly hard. I still do. It’s the only way to achieve anything worthwhile.” She admonishes the youth that “I always give my younger siblings the same advice I heard Steve Jobs give in his speech to the graduating class at Stanford, which is: “Find what you love to do......then stay hungry and stay foolish’. In essence, some people are meant to teach, some people are meant to preach, some will study science, some will excel at music, some will be stay- at-home mums and cook. It’s all a matter of finding what you love and doing that thing to the best of your ability.”
Coming to Nigeria to establish her company was not without its challenges, and Ola tells of her scariest decision: “Quitting my job was the scariest thing. The steady large salary in Britain gave me an enormous sense of security, belonging and identity.”
Many people have various quotes that help form their lives and actions, that give them courage to achieve what they have set out to achieve and for Ola, hers is: ‘There will be no rescue, no intervention for us. We can only save ourselves. Many of you know influential people abroad, you must call these people. You must tell them what will happen to us... say goodbye. But when you say goodbye, say it as if you are reaching through the phone and holding their hand. Let them know that if they let go of that hand, you will die. We must shame them into sending help.’ -Paul Rusesabagina (Hotel Rwanda, 2004).
It is one thing to have a good vision and plan but quite another implementing it to the fullest. Ola shares how the company has been surviving and her plans for the New Year: “We have an amazing team of doctors, pilots and operations staff that make the service run effectively. We’ve had an excellent response from corporate bodies across West Africa, and my desire and plan for the year is to purchase more aircrafts and expand across Africa”.
