Brain drain, burnout threat to Nigeria’s health sector — PHSAI

…Urges swift betterment pursuing doctor’s abrupt decease connected duty

By Sola Ogundipe

The Public Health Sustainable Advocacy Initiative (PHSAI) has called for urgent reforms successful the Nigerian wellness assemblage to forestall systemic collapse.

The telephone came connected the heels of the tragic decease of Dr. Oluwafemi Rotifa, who collapsed aft a 72-hour displacement astatine Rivers State University Teaching Hospital, an incidental that brought renewed attraction to the increasing strain connected the country’s aesculapian workforce.

Rotifa’s death, PHSAI noted, is among the latest successful a bid of losses among frontline wellness professionals, which see Dr. Ahmed Isaiah successful 2022, Dr. Vwaere Diaso successful 2023, and Dr. Okeoghene Edigba besides successful 2023. PHSAI described the deaths arsenic preventable and symptomatic of deeper organization challenges.

“The decease of Dr. Rotifa is not conscionable a idiosyncratic loss-it is simply a informing signal. Each preventable decease of a doc weakens Nigeria’s wellness strategy and endangers millions of patients. Without urgent reforms, the strategy risks full collapse,” PHSAI said successful its statement.

According to the group, Nigeria’s doctor-to-patient ratio present stands astatine 1:10,000, a ratio that is acold beneath the World Health Organisation’s proposal of 1:600.

The radical regretted that thousands of doctors person emigrated successful hunt of amended opportunities, leaving those who stay dangerously overworked and pushing patients to question attraction abroad.

In its argumentation brief, PHSAI called for an exigency recruitment thrust to bring successful much doctors, nurses, and allied professionals, arsenic good arsenic an enlargement of aesculapian schoolhouse intake and accelerated licensing of caller graduates.

PHSAI urged the authorities to connection competitory wage packages, hazard allowances, housing, and vocation improvement opportunities to stem the tide of encephalon drain.

Further, the assemblage besides emphasised the request for humane moving conditions, including legally enforced maximum moving hours and mandatory remainder periods to forestall fatigue-related tragedies.

PHSAI further demanded fairer compensation for wellness workers done improved security and payment packages, on with fiscal and payment enactment for the families of deceased doctors, including those of  the precocious Rotifa, adjacent arsenic it pressed for urgent semipermanent concern successful infirmary infrastructure, functional equipment, and exigency resources to fortify the wellness system.

The organisation affirmed its readiness to enactment with each levels of authorities to instrumentality these reforms and to physique a much sustainable, resilient healthcare strategy that protects some providers and patients.

The station Brain drain, burnout menace to Nigeria’s wellness assemblage — PHSAI appeared archetypal connected Vanguard News.