Posted on: Wed 18-05-2022

A former Medical Director of the National Orthopaedic Hospital, Lagos, Dr Gbolahan Adebule, has urged the Federal and State Governments to increase funding for research in orthopaedic hospitals.

Adebule said this in Lagos during the inaugural Alumni Day of the hospital, themed, ‘Maintaining ethical standard in trauma and orthopaedic practice’.

He said, “Every day, orthopaedics is advancing and what our teachers used to do in those days is no longer relevant now because research is ongoing, and you cannot continue doing what has been discovered not good enough again.

“So, we have to keep abreast, and the only way to do that is not only to expand the skill and the art of the surgeon but to expand his ability to carry out research and to make his discovery become what he can use to operate.

“The Nigerian Medical Association and other medical associations have always been advocating more funding for research, and now, that everything in the world is becoming real extreme application of science, there is the need for the government at all levels to increase funding for research in our hospitals.”

He also advised surgeons not to involve in unethical practices.

“I expect any well-trained physician or surgeon to always do what is right, just, and best for the patients all the time, even if it requires him staying on his feet all day to get it done.

“But many times, we are compelled to practice old surgery when the equipment is not there to do modern surgery. And even when you do the old surgery, you are on your toes hoping that nothing happens to regret doing it.”

The Chairman of the Local Organising Committee, Prof. Olawale Olakulehin, said, “The objective of the alumni is to breach the generational gap. The hospital has trained close to 300 resident doctors that are practicing orthopaedic surgery within and outside the country.

---

---