Our health system in Nigeria is not topnotch when compared to advanced countries where our political leaders go to for medical tourism.
However, in the past our health facilities in both public and private were far better in terms of right diagnosis, patient care, professionalism, etc than what are obtainable today .
The reasons are not far fetched. The Japa syndrome is the prime cause of the poor quality health and medical care services in Nigeria. Most competent doctors with self confidence are leaving Nigeria in search of greener pastures in foreign countries.
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The mass exodus of competent doctors, nurses, and other health workers is drastically reducing the number of these professionals available to treat and care for patients. Doctors, pharmacists , nurses to patients ratios are very abysmal and far below WHO recommendations. Hence, these professionals are overworked and majority of the available ones are less competent with low self confidence.
The second factor responsible for poor health and medical outcomes in our health facilities is the quality of medical education in Nigeria, with the advent of private universities, standard are dropping in many colleges of medicine and surgery in Nigeria.
For a private university that run a college of medicine, there must be a breakeven number of students for the college to be self sustaining and contribute to the overall profit margin of the university. Let us not forget that essentially private universities are businesses that must make profit. Hence, the need to maintain at least a minimum threshold that can guarantee a margin of profit. The resultant effect is that standard are compromised for the sake of sustainability and profitability of the medical programmes in the private universities.
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The products of the private universities consults in our clinics at both private and public hospitals.
Due to the quality of medical doctors, pharmacists, medical lab scientists that are produced currently in our universities, I am of the opinion that the federal government should enact an Act of the National Assembly making it mandatory for the graduates of these professional courses to write uniform national examinations which only those that passed would be licensed to practice in Nigeria. Just as we have bar 2 examination for law graduates to write in order to be licensed to practice law in Nigeria. The same should be applied to medical doctors, Pharmacists and medical laboratory scientists in Nigeria.
However, both the federal government and subnational should enhance the working conditions of medical and health workers in Nigeria.
If there is a group of professionals that have imbibed Stacy Adams equity theory of motivation unintentionally, it is the Nigerian doctors. They are quick in comparing their conditions of service and remuneration to doctors of other countries. That is why the Japa syndrome is high among them.
Hopefully, the competent and confident doctors will remain in the country if their wages and conditions of service improve radically and positively, comparable to many countries in Europe and America.
With much government investment in modern medical equipment and instruments, good wages and conditions of service, I am optimistic that the country can reverse the current negative trajectories in our health system.
The views expressed by contributors are strictly personal and not of Law & Society Magazine.
