PaxherbalMagazinecloser-to-the-people

Bringing Natural Medicine Closer To The People

Written by Nat Omame Jr. Monday, 15 August 2011 16:21

Matron, Mrs Rebecca Atukumah taking a patient's blood pressure Fourteen years ago when Rev. Father Anselm Adodo, OSB, started his unrelenting revolutionary foray into the practice, research and production of herbal medicine, his vision was hinged on the establishment of a full-fledged Natural Medicine Hospital in the course of time.

His dream began to take firm root in the sands of history when Pax Clinic and Research Laboratories , undoubtedly, the most sophisticated indigenous African Pharmaceutical Industry, ensconced in St. Benedict Monastery, Ewu-Esan, along the Benin-Auchi Road, commenced operation. The Clinic and Research Laboratory are both located at Pax Centre, a sprawling brick edifice, opposite the wooden shark, an alluring relic, where Fr. Anselm began his quiet revolutionary sojourn for the transformation of herbal medicine practice.

Evidently, herbal medicine has audaciously transformed Pax Centre into a Global Health Tourism Destination. Patients with various illnesses have continued to visit the clinic to seek for cure to their ailments. In seeking for cure through herbal medicine, people from all strata of the society now come to Pax Centre where they mingle freely as they go through their respective routine at the clinic.

It is commonplace to hear patients with the benefit of western education make formal requests to be given a guided tour of the Clinic and Research Laboratory.
The presence of high-tech machines in the factory used for the production, measurement, packaging, labeling and the coding of products for distribution to Depot Managers, Pax Health Care Providers and end users have often thrilled and triggered the curiosity of visitors and tourists.

In the beginning, most of the patients came from Ewu, Agbede, Irrua, Uromi, Igueben, Iruekpe, Ogwa and other neighbouring communities. Now, patients come to Pax Centre from different parts of Nigeria.

Even with five consultants attending to patients daily, the human traffic at Pax Centre has continued to snow ball. Currently, most of the patients come from outside Edo State. The motto of Pax is: Bringing Health Nearer To The People! In furtherance of this philosophy, Pax management decided to establish a full-fledged Natural Medicine Hospital at, Ajah, in Lagos, to attend to patients from Lagos State and the South West.

The hospital which began operation in January has received and attended to 40 patients in 12 weeks. For now, consultants come from Ewu every four weeks to conduct two day consultations for patients. Some of the patients were directed from Ewu after they established contact through e-mail or telephone. Patients seeking to set appointments at Pax Natural Medicine Hospital, usually do so through: 08052940885 and 07098725770.

Management has designed the hospital to have two in-house consultants, considering the human traffic that is expected in the coming months. First time patients are expected to pay a fee for registration and consultation.

Patients are informed of the next consultation date through e-mail or text messages. Barring emergency calls, official hours are 7.30am to 5.00pm. Curiously, all the emergency calls have all come from people who have not registered with the hospital. And cases of High Blood Pressure and Diabetes have so far dominated the emergency calls.

Upon arrival at No. 4, Joyce Balogun Street, Oke-Ira Nla, off Ajah-Badore Road, Ajah, Lekki, where the hospital is situated, the intending patients are expected to provide adequate information about themselves.

The matron, Mrs. Rebecca Atukumah, Ghanaian by birth, who had previously worked with Notre Dame Hospital, Auchi; Setraco Construction Company Hospital and Peace Clinic, Irrua, enters relevant information about the patient on a Data Card. The Data Card include information on: age; sex; address; blood pressure; temperature; weight; height; urine sugar level; blood sugar level; phone number and e-mail address.

Patients leave the Consultation Room for the Dispensary where they present their Data Cards to the Dispensing Officer, Miss Amaka Onyemalu, who studies the prescription made by the consultant and proceeds to give the patients the herbal medicinal products recommended by the consultant.

Nat Omame Jr. -
	Nath Oname, Jr. is currently the Editor of The Herbal Doctor magazine. He has worked and written for various Newspapers and magazines in Nigeria including The Punch newspaper, Thisweek magazine, PROBE magazine and The Diet newspaper.