Two days ago I had the flu, a slight fever and mild cough. Since I didn't bring any cough mixture and the fact that the fever could be malaria, I visited the Reddington Hospital in Victoria Island, Lagos, Nigeria. This was an office approved hospital. It’s a western style hospital, suitable for western expatriates.
I registered at the front desk to see the general practitioner (GP) and was immediately asked to pay the registration and consultation fee of N66,000 or the Malaysian equivalent of RM1540! Can you imagine that? Even Gleneagles or Pantai Medical will not charge you that much to see the GP. And this was just consultation fees. I shuddered to think how much the medication cost would come up to.
After about an hour, I got to see the GP. He’s a nice, young man. He knows a little of Malaysian history from what was taught in high school. Good memory. But then again, don't all doctors have good memory.
I was prodded all over, mainly for Malaria symptoms. I think my fever wasn't high enough to be diagnosed as Malaria as Malaria causes sudden spikes in fever. But just to be on the safe side, I took a blood test, the results of which I will know on Sunday morning, to test for Malaria.
The bill for the medication and lab test cost me another N25,000 or RM583. And all I got was 2 bottles of cough syrups, a nasal spray and box of Strepsils.
So, all in all, I spent close to N91,000 or RM2,123 just to see a GP in Nigeria.
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