As healthcare investments rise in Nigeria, Facilities Management will be critical to the core operations of these facilities. This is according to insights shared by Adejumoke Akure, CEO of Intelligent Spaces Ltd. and No-Executive Partner at Estate Links Ltd.
She noted that one of the challenges in the healthcare industry in Nigeria is that it is traditional because of the professional hierarchical system but as more people who are not medical professionals get involved in the healthcare space, we are beginning to see an unbundling of a lot of services and functions in the space like finance, human resources, operations. This involvement of external professionals is a necessary and rational business decision.
In addition, as private investment in the sector intensifies there have been increased residential conversions to hospitals. This has resulted in the need for facilities managers who would ensure proper traffic flow and coordination within the premises.
Adejumoke further noted that healthcare operations management is more in-depth than facility management. Apart from the core hospital services, operations is responsible for information management systems, customer care, Procurement, records among other services. In places like India and Asia, healthcare providers have become massive organizations as a result of prioritizing facilities management. An example is Apollo Hospitals, a $1.5 billion per year revenue business.
However, in Nigeria, there is a need for increased government support towards healthcare operations. The cost of power generation, for example, is a high operational cost involved in managing hospitals impacting on revenue generation.
However, facilities management provides a sense of responsibility and efficiency to staff. This encourages everyone to have a lean mentality. Through regular inspections, one is able to discover better ways to save energy and resources resulting in quality services provision, Adejumoke concluded.
For these and more insights, you can join the next Open Property Africa AMA session by joining the group here.
