Doctors In Kaduna Expresses Concern Over Exodus Of Medical Personnel
BY AMOS TAUNA, KADUNA – The Kaduna State chapter of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), has expressed serious concern over the number of medical personnel leaving the state for greener pastures.
The NMA warned that the exodus of doctors and other medical personnel leaving to other states and outside the country for greener pastures, if not checked and urgently arrested, could seriously affect the healthcare delivery in the state.
The association particularly observed that about 60 per cent of doctors serving in the state have left to other states or other countries in search of greener pastures within a short period of time.
Addressing newsman on the activities of its Annual General Meeting, state chairman of the NMA, Dr. Stephen Akau Kache said; “This we have found to be direct consequence of poor remuneration. Other factors include poor working conditions, having to work extra hours due to low manpower and in some cases lack of career progression.”
“On a general note however, across all health institutions in the state, the situation is similar to the national picture, whereby there is an exodus of doctors to other countries for a variety of reasons with a resultant shortage in the number of doctors available to treat patients within the country.”
With the problems enumerated above, Dr. Kache noted that it becomes the biggest challenge that is affecting the ability of the remaining health personnel to achieve the desired health outcomes due to the internal and external brain drain that has become the order of the day in the state.
He said that in Kaduna state in particular, it has become the order of the day that medical personnel employed in the state experienced very low employees coming to take up their appointments while others completely do not come to take their offer of employment.
In his words; “Most of the newly employed medical personnel prefer going to other states within the North to take up employment where the conditions of service are far better than what Kaduna state offers.
“It therefore affects the quality of healthcare delivery being offered in the state as most of those employed have to go through some experience before being able to offer qualitative service.”
To cushion the problems most people are passing through in the state, the NMA said it organized a free medical treatments at the Sabon Tasha General hospital where patients were treated on eye related issues, minor surgery and other related illness.
