said Bermudians should be as attentive to their health as they are to their cars.

"People in Bermuda take good care of their cars and don't wait until maintenance is due before having the car serviced. They should be as attentive to their health,'' Dr. Femi Bada told The Royal Gazette .

Anticipatory medicine will be the key to success at his new practice which recently opened at Point Finger Road.

Dr. Bada, who plans to walk hand in hand with individuals to prevent illnesses before they occur, said: "In the Chinese way of life they pay doctors to keep them fit, not to treat them for illnesses.'' And he commented that people only go to the doctor when they fear they may become ill.

"Once the initial anxiety has passed they stop seeing the doctor,'' he said.

After coming to the Island three years ago, Dr. Bada worked for the Bermuda Police, the Fire Medical Services and Prisons.

And he said Government -- being the biggest employer -- spent too much money on treating people when prevention would have saved it money.

"You cannot have health care without prevention. Every other country has prevention as well as health care.'' He said Bermuda's affluence caused its people to drink alcohol and smoke tobacco excessively -- leading to a high incidence of obesity, diabetes, heart problems and high blood pressure.

And he said Bermudians make many excuses as to why they have health problems.

In regards to obesity, he said:"Many black Bermudians claim they are just big-boned.

"Bermudians, who are an elite people anyway, think they have a special dispensation from disease,'' he continued.

And he said he did not believe in everyone in a family going off in "tangents'' to see different doctors.

"The family doctor looks after the family,'' he said.

"When a person has a throat ache, he or she would usually go to an ear, nose and throat specialist, but my philosophy is to treat the whole person so that the throat becomes a part of a bigger issue,'' he added.

But he said he would refer a female family member to a gynaecologist, for example, and would only expect that the woman would come back to her family practitioner afterward.

"Your doctor should be your closest friend so I see no reason why a female patient shouldn't share gynaecological problems with the family practitioner also,'' Dr. Bada said.

And he said he did not wear a white coat, or have a desk in his office, because it created an automatic barrier between the patient and the physician.

"Being afraid of going to the doctor who sits behind a desk in a white coat can alone raise someone's blood pressure and cause anxiety.'' In the spirit of a patient and physician working together, Dr. Bada's patients will sign a "Practice Charter'' and will be given a list of home ache and illness treatments as well as a list of items to keep in a family medical kit.

Dr. Femi Bada