Nigeria has lost 2,800 resident doctors, others planning to leave
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
About 2,800 resident doctors have left the country for greener pastures overseas in the past three years, and others are on the queue to exit because of poor working conditions, says the Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD).
NARD President Innocent Orji said a study conducted by the body in September 2022 showed 800 resident doctors left in the eight months between January and August, an average 100 every month.
Orji spoke at a press conference after a meeting of the NARD National Executive Council (NEC) in Uyo at the weekend.
He reiterated the exodus of doctors to foreign countries weigh downs local healthcare delivery and service as one doctor is expected to take care of over 10,000 patients without commensurate welfare package.
He decried the poor condition of service and welfare of health workers and sought adequate remuneration as well as infrastructure development in hospitals across the country to tackle the rate of brain drain.
He called for 15 per cent annual budgetary allocation to healthcare in line with the 2001 Abuja declaration for healthcare financing in Africa and global best practices.
Orji also urged a review of bureaucratic bottlenecks in the employment process of doctors for easy employment.
His words: “We did a study in September last year and we came up with facts that in a two year period, we lost 2,000 resident doctors. From January to August of 2022, we lost 800 doctors that is to say we lose 100 doctors every month.
“I always say, as politicians are playing politics they should also pay attention to governance because it will come to a time when they will finish elections in February and March, and come back to find out that there are no doctors again.
“Even though we have a massive shortage of doctors, the truth is that we still have doctors in the street looking for employment but bureaucracy in the system is a major problem.
“We know that bureaucracy in government is to follow due process and so on but there should be a point to review whatever that is on the ground to see whether it is working or not.
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Reasons why doctors are quitting
“There must be a mechanism for replacing clinical staff, who are leaving the hospital, Orji said, per reporting by Daily Post.
“Even if you do that, it is not going to solve the problem but will help to reduce it because people who are leaving are highly skilled doctors.
“Even if you employ new people, before they would attain to that level of competence and training, it will take time, so the best thing is to address the reason doctors are emigrating.
“The reason doctors are leaving is not only for remuneration, they need housing schemes, car loan schemes and other things that even the government does not necessarily need to spend its money on.
“What it needs to do is just to midwife the process and get in private investors who would fund that.
“Another reason doctors are leaving is because of poor infrastructure. It is very disheartening that as a doctor, you know what to do to save the life of your patient and you end up losing the patient because of lack of infrastructure.
“If it happens overtime, you run into depression. This is not a joke. And the next thing you have to do is to move away and go to a better system. If the government wants to address this, there is no shortcut to it, it can address it.”
NASS needs to intervene
Orji disclosed the NEC in its resolution urged the National Assembly (NASS) to make laws protecting healthcare workers.
It asked Chief Medical Directors of tertiary hospitals to take seriously their responsibility for security as NARD would no longer stand by and watch its members being assaulted by staff, patients, relatives or security operatives.
The NEC also implored Abuja, the Nigeria Governor’s Forum (NGF) and other stakeholders to prevail on the Governors of Abia, Ondo, and Ekiti to urgently pay the arrears of salaries and allowances of doctors.
Orji disclosed Abia owes the greatest arrears, dating back 25 months.