…Hospitals Suffer Shortage
Hospitals in the country are currently suffering from the shortage of health workers and have reduced their numbers of surgeries and outpatients as over 4,000 doctors migrate in search of greener pastures.
News About Nigeria reports that the reduction of surgeries and outpatients was necessary as the hospitals owned by the government is no longer able to cope with the number of outpatients that keep increasing daily.
The Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Health had earlier on disclosed that not less than five wards with about 150 beds, had been closed down at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, LUTH, due to a shortage of health workers.
However, investigations by PUNCH revealed that the Lagos University Teaching Hospital was one, among the hundreds of hospitals suffering this same fate.
According to them, most of the hospitals in the country are currently battling heavy workloads as several health workers have left the country in search of better conditions.
The Nigerian Medical Association had also revealed that 2,000 health workers were leaving yearly, noting that according to a survey conducted in 2022, more than 2,000 of its members left the country.
However, the outflux of medical practitioners in the country can be attributed to the harsh economic conditions Nigerians are currently facing which have forced doctors to leave the country.
According to reports, 1,197 doctors had moved to the United Kingdom since May 29, 2023, and health institutions including the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, the Federal Medical Centre, Abeokuta; Aminu Kano University Teaching Hospital, Kano and the Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital, Ile-Ife among others, have lost close to 1,000 doctors to japa in the last two years.
