Wednesday, April 30, 2025 - The Executive Secretary of the Kwara State Hospital Management Board, Abdulrahman Malik, disclosed that there is an acute shortage of medical doctors in the state-owned hospitals.
Speaking at the state interministerial press briefing for
the first quarter of 2025 on Tuesday, April 29, Malik said that due to the
‘Japa’ syndrome, doctors do not want to take up appointments with the state
government, even when the government is ready to recruit them.
He lamented that while between 180 and 200 doctors are
required in the government service, only 89 of them are available in the
service.
He said the number of available doctors only recently became
89 from 86 when three who had left the service returned after the government
introduced a new and improved salary for the doctors’ services.
The hospital board’s boss said the government had been
trying to attract doctors to the state service with improved salaries and
facilities that could encourage them to stay, especially in the rural areas
where many of them do not want to go.
He also disclosed that the government has introduced an
intern nurses programme for the training of nurses who would replace many
nurses who had left the service for abroad.
“The mass exodus of health professionals is severely
affecting our capacity to provide adequate care,” the official said.
“Gov. AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq has approved an upgrade in the
salaries of our doctors to match federal pay in a bid to retain the few we have
left.
“The revised salary structure has led to the return of three
doctors who had previously resigned, bringing the total number on the state’s
payroll to 89.
“However, the figure still falls short of the estimated 180
to 200 physicians needed to serve the state’s population effectively.
“Nigeria’s doctor-to-patient ratio is currently estimated at
one doctor to over 5,000 patients, far below the World Health Organisation’s
(WHO) recommended one doctor to 600 patients.”
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