PR TIMES AFRICA PR TIMES AFRICA Magazine june 2015 | Page 23

Dr. Ola
Orekunrin
The Sky is her Starting block
“I believe so much that our generation will be
the one to turn Nigeria's [and indeed Africa's]
fortunes around”.
N
igerian-British doctor and air helicopter
pilot with specialised training in aviation
medicine, Ola Orekunrin is the founder of
the first air operated Emergency medical services in
Lagos, Nigeria; Flying Doctors Nigeria Ltd. She was
inspired to start the charity, to assuage the problems
of poor emergency response services in Nigeria, after
the sad loss of her younger sister to health difficulties.
Born in London to Nigerian parents Ola grew up
under the tutelage of white foster parents, graduating
in medicine from Hull York University at the tender
age of 21, one of the youngest ever graduates in the
field of medicine. She worked with National Health
Serivces in the United Kingdom for ten years after
graduation before returning to Nigeria to start her
own unique practice. She started Flying Doctors
Nigeria in the year 2007, despite the fact that the
idea had been suggested for the country since 1960.
Flying Doctors Nigeria meets the unique needs of
special and emergency clients, whose cases cannot be
handled in Nigeria and require being flown abroad
where the facilities exist to take care of their
situations. Flying Doctors serves the large expatriate
community in Nigeria both in the offshore Oil & Gas
industry and those who work in very remote parts of
Nigeria who may be involved in accidents or require
other forms of emergency medical assistance. Aside
from the expatriate client base, Flying Doctors also
help's to cater to patients from other West African
countries flying them into Nigeria for treatment and
emergency care.
Ola is driven by success of great achievers in diverse
fields of human endeavour, such as Warren Buffet,
PR TIMES AFRICA
VOL 1. JULY 2015
Dora Akunyili, Professor Yamanaka, celebrated artists
like Damien Hirst and Andy Warhol. But she is also
conscious of the fact that these individuals were driven
to extra-terrestial levels of success by the teams that
supported their work and she is always appreciative of
the team that driuves Flying Doctors.
Ola holds a fascination for flying and loves trauma
medicine with a particular interested in motor
accident kinematics and pre-hospital medicine. Ola is
a member of both the American Academy of Aesthetic
Surgeons and the British Medical Association. She has
the honour of being listed among the Young Global
leaders by World Economic Forum in 2013. Her
achievements stand out in medical entrepreneurship
and she is a shining light in a continent that is bristling
with boundless creative energies.
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