Prof. Sa’ad Ahmed, Medical Director of the Federal Medical Centre (FMC) Jabi, Abuja, on Tuesday, revealed that around 51 doctors had resigned since the year began.
According to Ahmed, all the departments in the hospital were affected by a brain drain, with the Ear, Nose, and Throat (ENT) department particularly facing a manpower shortage.
“We equally have challenges in the department of neurology as we only have one consultant there, we run clinics once a week there. [Additionally, there are challenges] in the cardiology department and more people are coming for those services. In physiotherapy, about four or five people have left. Every department is affected.
“This year alone, about 51 staff have left the facility. It is biting, and it will continue to bite. We can talk about one-for-one replacement, but sometimes you cannot get that level of experience of the person that is leaving,” he lamented.
Due to the waning situation, the House of Representatives Committee on Health Institutions vowed to reduce the outflow of Nigerian patients seeking medical care abroad and health workers traveling outside the country for higher wages.
Amos Magaji, the committee’s chairman, stated that the group was also attempting to guarantee that the hospital received an additional parcel of land so that it could grow its medical offerings.
Regarding the health budget, he stated that everyone was aware that there wasn’t a budget for the entire country and that it was something to look into. However, he noted that they were making every effort to guarantee that if the country prospers, the budget for the country will increase.
