Dr Serge LOMBAT : “We want to democratize imaging in the city of Kribi and its surroundings

Founder of the Lombat Samba Richard Foundation, he expresses himself on the reasons of their endowment to the city of Kribi.

city of Kribi with a scanner. A revolution in medical imaging? The Lombat Samba Richard Kribi Foundation is a non-profit
association. We have been giving free consultations for a year. The people who benefit from them can testify to the fact that we give free consultations. This is for cash-paying patients. The Foundation is an integrated medical structure. We take care of patients who come for general
or specialised consultations, laboratory tests, hospitalisation and imaging. It should be noted that imaging is my speciality. We want to democratise imaging in the city of Kribi and its surroundings. What do I mean by democratising? It is to make imaging available to all and at an acceptable
price. This is why this Foundation was created to enable the poor to take care of themselves in a suitable manner. Basically, it is an integrated centre. It integrates all specialities. We do not hesitate to call on the best specialists when the situation arises. What is the vocation of your foundation?
It is a centre whose vocation is to provide optimal care for patients in medical imaging. The scanner remains an essential element in the advanced diagnosis of strokes, low back pain and cancer. We want to take care of patients. We hope we will. We have already received 1,500 Kribians here in the last year. We must remember that these patients have not paid for consultations. This is a reality.
Tell us about medical imaging? Medical imaging is everything that concerns standard radiography. You want to do a quick X-ray of the lungs, the tuberculosis patients and those who are coughing. A woman who is pregnant. A man with a stomach ache. Both need an X-ray. Mammography,
women with breast problems. This is still medical imaging. Dental panoramic for patients with dental problems. This is still medical imaging. Then we have the scanner, which the centre has just acquired. This is also medical imaging and the MRI, which we don’t have yet. It is above the scanner. It is excessively expensive. What do you do with patients who do not have enough money?
There is a part of the population that will never have the means to pay for the examinations. The proof is that a scanner costs between 80 and 150,000 CFA francs. But the consultation costs between 600 and 1000 F CFA, which sometimes people cannot afford. So we try to consult patients
on a case-by-case basis. It is a problem of mass education. Patients need to know that when they come to pay a little. They also participate in helping us to develop. It’s almost difficult to do it for free when you don’t have the support of the government.
What is your capacity? We have a capacity of 10 to 15 hospital beds. We can go up to 30 hospital beds. We also have VIP rooms. All standings are possible with us. We don’t do unregulated hospitalisation. When a patient has to be hospitalised, we do it. When they don’t need to be hospitalised, they take their care and go home. Hospitalization in medicine is the exception. It is not the rule.
Is there a need for medical imaging in the city of Kribi?
The need for medical imaging is important. Except that, when I travel to see 05 patients, it is a bit annoying. I am there to see the complicated patients.
What is the capacity of the scanner that has just been made available to the population
of the seaside town?
It’s a bare bones scanner. It does almost all the examinations that can be done. It has the capacity to do a head examination in 10 seconds. A patient who comes in comatose and needs to be taken care of quickly, you can’t handle him for long. In 10 or 15 seconds, the diagnosis is made and he can leave with the result. Patients who come here for a scan will have their results immediately
Interview by Catherine Aimée Biloa