The Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) has raised fresh concerns over the dwindling number of healthcare professionals at the institution, attributing the decline to uncompetitive salaries and migration to state-owned and private hospitals within Lagos State and abroad.

Chief Medical Director of LUTH, Prof. Wasiu Adeyemo, who disclosed this during an oversight visit by members of the House of Representatives Committee on Health, said that though government investments in healthcare infrastructure had significantly improved over the past few years, staff shortages continue to hamper service delivery.

He stated that staffing gaps, especially among nurses and resident doctors, are hindering service delivery.

“The government has spent a lot on infrastructure, and it’s visible. LUTH today is not what it was four or five years ago. It’s an irony. We have modernised wards, we can’t fully operate because we lack personnel,” he said.

According to him, many health workers now prefer to take jobs in Lagos State-owned hospitals or travel abroad for better remuneration and opportunities, saying that the state’s staff salary can be up to N120,000 higher than federal institutions like LUTH.

Adeyemo said that during a recent recruitment exercise, only 50 per cent of the approved nurses actually reported for duty. “We’re losing both to internal migration and international opportunities,” he said.

He also revealed that while LUTH spends over N147 million monthly on electricity, its overhead allocation is still N27 million per month, barely enough to sustain operations.

“Although the 2024 budget increased our allocation to N50 million monthly, we’ve only received the old amount. Power providers give us just seven days to pay bills or get disconnected. It’s a constant struggle,” he lamented.

Adeyemo, while praising the National Assembly for its role in increasing capital funding, which has allowed the hospital to expand facilities and procure essential equipment, stressed that the improvements would amount to little if the hospital cannot retain skilled professionals.

Meanwhile, Chairman of the committee, Patrick Umoh, expressed deep concern over the exodus of healthcare workers, describing the situation as tragic.

He said: “It breaks my heart to read that our professionals are migrating en masse, sometimes to countries with weaker economies, just to survive.”

Umoh, therefore, called on all stakeholders to take collective responsibility.