By David Odama (In Lafia, Nasarawa State)
The Nigeria Medical Association (NMA), Nasarawa state chapter, has said over 100 doctors working at the Dalhatu Araf Specialist Hospital (DASH), Federal Medical Center (FMC), keffi and the State Hospital Management Board (HMB), have left the state to Saudi Arabia in the last one year.
The highly needed medical doctors have opted for greener pastures because of the non-implementation of hazard and duty call allowance. The resultant brain drain has had serious adverse on the state as the already inadequate number of medical doctors has further been reduced.
The NMA chairman in the state, Dr. Peter Attah, disclosed these on Tuesday in Lafia, the Nasarawa State capital, during a press briefing to mark the 2022 Physicians' week.
Attah also revealed that of about 550 doctors actively licensed and working in the state, no fewer than 350 are working with FMC while about 200 are engaged at the DASH, HMB and some other government institutions including Federal University of Lafia.
The State Primary Healthcare Development Agency (NAPHDA), and the Nasarawa State University, Keffi (NSUK), are among institutions that have some of these doctors.
He said: "Over 100 doctors that are working in DASH, FMC Keffi, and HMB have left the state to Saudi Arabia as a result of brain drain in the state.
"Statistics available in the state shows that the brain drain so far in DASH, FMC Keffi and HMB in the last one year are over 100 that have left the state as a result non implementation of hazard and call on duty allowance", he said, stressing that the cause must be addressed to avert further exodus.
However, he said in July, DASH replaced about 30 doctors, but regretted that within one month and in the middle of last month, more than 10 doctors have resigned from the hospital and left the state.
Although 30 doctors were among newly engaged in the last quarter of 2020, by the Nasarawa state government through the hospital management board, less than five doctors are currently on ground, according to Dr Attah.
He lamented that the same scenario is also playing out at the FMC Keffi and other places. Attah also disclosed that DASH lost up to five doctors less than one month before FMC Keffi, suffered same fate due to volumes of work and shortage of manpower.
He equally revealed that generally in the country, there is one doctor to 10,000 patients in most hospitals in the country, even as he lamented that the situation in Nasarawa State is pathetic as they are one doctor to 20,000 patients, which is a far cry from the one to 600 projection of the World Health Organization (WHO).
While commending the state government for efforts to replace the doctors, he appealed to the government to focus on the issues that would encourage doctors to stay rather than the one that will allow them to go.
He also urged the state government to imitate the federal government that signed and implemented the hazard allowance by paying the nine months arrears it owed its doctors.
His words: "The state government should stop taxing their call duty allowance and hazard allowance. Give us housing and car loan. The economic reality is extremely bad and inflation rate is also high."
According to him, HMB has 19 general hospitals and out of the number about 38 doctors working in the whole hospitals, noting that at least minimum of 5 doctors are supposed to work in the general hospital. NNL.
