By Chioma Umeha
Stakeholders
and experts have called on the Federal Government and every level of government
to ensure adequate investment in the health industry for effective medical
service delivery in the country.
Making
the calls were participants at the 35th convocation ceremony of National Post
Graduate Medical College of Nigeria (NPMCN) including, Obi of Onitsha, His
Royal Majesty, Igwe Nnaemeka Alfred Achebe and Prof. Ademola Olaitan, the
president of the college.
The
Monarch who spoke after being conferred with the college’ Distinguished
Fellowship Award during the ceremony, recently in Lagos said, it is time
for Nigeria to step up action towards an integrated medical service
delivery that is indigenous-based, rather using expatriate doctors.
Igwe
Achebe argued that Nigeria doctors are the largest in United State of America
and they are trained in Nigeria, only to leave immediately after graduation due
to poor working conditions.
“Many
Nigerians are medical doctors in USA and they are trained in Nigeria, yet, we
do not have enough doctors to treat our people. We have to stay in the country
and salvage the Nigerian medical sector and the country together. We do not
need to leave the country because of frustration,” he said.
Obi
regretted that despite the little money being voted to the sector yearly for its development, only little is being
utilised for the improvement of the medical education and services.
He called on government
and mangers of the sector to judiciously make use of money appropriated for the
improvement of the sector.
“We hear that some
equipment in our hospitals are not working due to lack of power, skills to
operate machines, and we graduate people every year,” he said.
Prof. Olaitan while speaking with the INDEPENDENT, said the major challenges facing the college was poor funding and
called on spirited individuals and corporate bodies, religious bodies and
government to increase their investment in the college
and medical sector
According to him, if the
college is properly funded it would be saving millions of dollars which the
country spend in training medical doctors abroad.
Olaitan said that over
the years, the funding of the college has remained poor, noting that most of
projects in the college are stalled due to lack of funds.
“Over the years, funds
for projects are nothing to write home about in the college and that is
affecting the development of the college for effective delivery.
We have project of N500
million, government promised to give us N20 million and at the end, it only
gave N8 million,” he said
According to him, over
the years the college is being run through internally generated revenue and
what it generates cannot take it anywhere that is why we need partners.
He said that before now
the college was not looking for partner for its development, but today there is
need for the management
to look beyond government for funding.
While
delivering his welcome address, he said that the establishment
and construction of clinical skill and simulation laboratory for training of
resident doctors and for assessment of clinical skills and competence has
always been on top priority of the college, though challenged by funds.
According
to him, before now the college considered most project as that of health
ministry, but now we are jointly soliciting support from both the health
ministry and education ministry for the establishment of the clinical skill
simulation across the six geo political zones.
He
also disclosed that the college management was working on partnering with some
manufacturing companies and collaborating with existing simulation and skill
acquisition centres internationally.
Olaitan
further lamented that postgraduate medical and dental education in Nigeria is
passing through rough times as result of poor funding and frequent strikes in
various teaching hospitals across the country.
The
situation, he said does not allow trainees to fulfill the prescribed minimum
period of clinical placement and rotations that qualify them for examinations.
