By Progress Godfrey, Abuja
In commemoration of World Cancer Day 2023, the Chief Executive Officer of NISA Premier Hospital Abuja, Dr Ibrahim Wada, has lamented the ravaging effects of medical brain drain while calling on government to intervene.
Wada who was represented by a Urological Surgeon, Dr Nabasu Ezra, made this call on Saturday in Abuja while addressing newsmen on the importance of awareness. This year’s commemoration was themed: “close the care gap”
According to data from the Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors, NARD, 2,000 doctors left the country in 2022, in search of greener pictures.
Wada stressed the need for government to strengthen its efforts through collaboration with relevant stakeholders. He stated that the current situation in the medical sector was a call for concern as it was impacting the quality of care.
He said, “It is absolutely important that the world set out today to remember specific conditions. We are highlighting cancer today, to inform and remind people of the importance of screening ourselves so that we can treat them early and do something in terms of care.
“Awareness is important because when it (cancer) starts, nobody knows. When it starts, it may not start with symptoms, so people need to be aware so they can come for a check-up.
“The impact of brain drain in the health sector is grievous. It is something that we all know. The number of doctors keeps reducing every day and it means that if you were supposed to be in a queue for 30 minutes to see two doctors and only one doctor is available, the waiting time doubles.
“It also affects the quality of care. In some instances, you see doctors in specific specialties leaving without replacement. So government needs to look at this and know how to collaborate with various specialties and groups to reverse this trend.”
Wada highlighted the efforts of the hospital in ensuring that doctors who leave are replaced, as it aims to close every care gap.
“Our goal is to see that we care for the patient the best way we can. So as people are going, there is an effort to replace whoever is going even though there is a competition in the market in replacing specialties, ” he added.
He urged the media to take the awareness to the nooks and crannies to ensure that rural dwellers understand the importance of early screening and detection.