Nigerian hospitals may soon run out of doctors, LUTH CMD warns

The Chief Medical Director of the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, Prof Wasiu Adeyemo, has warned that Nigerian hospitals may become empty soon if nothing is done to urgently address the brain drain in the health sector.

Speaking on the need for better remuneration for health workers in the country, Adeyamo, expressed concerns over the constant depletion of the workers who leave abroad in search of better lives.

He gave the warning during a budget defense session by the House of Representatives Committee on Healthcare Institutions chaired by Hon Patrick Umoh, with the heads of Federal Medical Centres and Universities Teaching Hospitals across the country to defend their 2024 budget performance and 2025 proposal.

Adeyemo said: “The major reason people are leaving is for economic reasons. We have a lot of issues. Resignations everyday. In the next one or two years if care is not taken, all the hospitals would be empty.

“We need to do something about the remuneration of our health workers. The government is putting a lot of money into infrastructure but the hospitals are empty.”

Chief Medical Director, University of Uyo Teaching Hospital, Prof Emem Bassey, said they had to return the sum of N1,056,034,392.80 because of the staff that left the hospital in search of greener pastures abroad.

He said the sum left over from the 2024 budget was meant for their salaries.

He said, “For the performance for 2024. In 2024 capital appropriation we had a total of 20, 617, 154,692.56 which was broken down into personnel N12,874,350, 949.56. Total overhead was N240,186,681.0. That actually came to about 20 million every month overhead.

“And then a total capital of 7,502,617,062.00. Now, the release is really up to date. For personnel, about N11,818,316,556.72 has been released, and all of it, 99.9% utilized, leaving a balance. N1, 056, 034, 392.80.

“The balance was because of their staff that left and because we could not do the recruitment in 2024. That would have been salaries meant for the new staff who were not recruited. But the balance has been mopped up by December 31, so it is no longer under us.”

He said for the first time, since he became a CMD, they had 99.99 per cent release of overhead.

“Now, for the capital, we had N7,502,617,062, of which only N884 million has been released. And I would expand a little bit more to say that last year there was an intervention to do some radio diagnostic centers in about six hospitals, one in each geopolitical zone and we were lucky to be among those centres. But these are beyond both the parastatal and the ministerial tender’s board approval limit threshold.

“So they have to go to the FEC, Federal Executive Council. Unfortunately, all the centres who have benefited, their memos are still yet to be presented at the Federal Executive Council. We are hoping that will be done within this month so the implementation can start.

“That’s the challenge that we are having. And also, like other people have mentioned, we are still yet to have the releases for October and November 2024.”

He said for 2025, the total personnel projection is N19,932,823,941.

He said for overhead, they had N482 million which comes to about 40 million every month.

Bassey added that the total capital budget proposal is N21 billion.

Also at the session were the CMD University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan Professor Jesse Abiodun Otegbayo and the Acting Chief Medical Director of the University Teaching Hospital, Ila Orangun, Osun State, Prof Kola Musliudin Owonikoko.

Chairman of the Committee, Patrick Umoh, stressed the need for fiscal responsibility to ensure a better country for all Nigerians.

Umoh expressed the commitment of the Committee to ensuring that funds that are disbursed are properly utilized for the benefit of all.