NMA decries insufficient doctors in the country

The Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), has decried insufficient Doctors to man health care delivery in the country.
Mr Osahon Enabulele, NMA president made the complained in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria in Eket, saying that the situation has led to huge gap in the health care sector.

He lamented the situation where about a little over 27,000 doctors were servicing over 170 million Nigerians.

“We recognised that in Nigeria today, we have the population well over 170 million Nigerians and we have just about a little over 27, 000 doctors servicing over 170 millions Nigerian.

“And our results have shown a very huge gap in the health care sector and it has lead to a lot of our doctors either falling ill or dyeing in the country,’’ he said.
Enabulele described the situation as “serious and very disastrous’’ that needs to be confronted in a very strategic ways.

He restated the commitment and passion of the Nigerian doctors to practice what they preach.

“As the leaders of the health care industries in Nigeria and the people who have been preaching healthy living as a fundamental objectives needs to put into practice what we have been telling Nigerians to do.

“In terms of indulging in sporting activities as an avenue towards  promoting our health and well being and also to ensure that even among  doctors who are medically, physically and mentally fit to render quality healthcare services,’’ he said.

He urged doctors to indulge in exercises in order to improve consciousness and medical wellbeing to deliver improved medical healthcare to the people.
According to him, improve medical care will drive wealth to the country by having a ripples effect to the people of Nigeria because they have access to qualitative care will improve productivity and increase wealth for the country.
“That’s part of the challenge we are facing as a developing country, every now and then we have to be challenging government in state, local and National level to do much work and put enough medical personnel to get more results to attend to very huge patients.

“Unless and until we do that there is no amount of nostrum structure we want to create in the industries that will lead to tremendous health dividend of democracy, we need to map out enough requirement  to be able to drive qualitative health care delivery to the people,’’ he said.
Enabulele said that the ideal thing was one doctor should be expected to one patient but globally we expect a ratio of one doctor to 600 patients, adding Nigeria is far where you have about 27,000 doctors to servicing a 170 million Nigerians.

The NMA President called on Government at all levels should place health as a top priority as it was a strong nexus to development.  

He appealed to the Federal government to recruit more medical personnel’s in order to improve medical healthcare of the people, saying that recruitment of medical personnel would reduce a huge burden in the country.
He lamented the situation where some local government areas don’t have doctor to superintend over their primary healthcare, saying that such situations don’t happen in the developed countries.

“Unless and until that is domicile within the mental consciousness of our politicians in the local, state and federal levels, we will continue to have this can of situation we are having now,’’ he explained. 

Enabulele said that insufficient doctors causes long waiting hours in the hospitals which have “negative knock effects’’ on the state of practice, adding most people seeks quacks and non charlatans for long waiting time in the hospitals.

“If one doctor is superintending over a general hospital that certainly is unacceptable and unless and until we that we continue to have this vicious cycle that we have in our country,’’ he said.