President of the Association of Resident Doctors, at the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital, Monsuru Awodun, has spoken against the collapsing health system in Nigeria.
Awodun said doctors in Nigeria are poorly paid compared to their counterparts in other African countries, hence the ongoing nationwide strike by the association.
He added that the current national strike action could be avoided if the system were functioning properly.
“If the system is working, we will not go on strike. There are doctors who cannot pay school fees for their children or maintain their cars.
The healthcare sector is going down. We had a National Executive Council (NEC) meeting, and the total, indefinite, and comprehensive strike action continues,” he said.
He described ARD members as soldiers committed to improving the healthcare sector for the benefit of Nigerians and doctors alike.
According to him, there is a severe manpower shortage at UITH, Ilorin, and many tertiary hospitals across Nigeria are also grappling with an alarming shortage of resident doctors.
“Many departments are functioning with less than half of the required workforce.
The growing patient load continues to increase, while the number of doctors available to attend to them keeps decreasing.
The situation has stretched our members to their limits and is negatively affecting service delivery, training, and patient outcomes,” he lamented.
Awodun warned that many skilled resident doctors are resigning in large numbers, with even more migrating abroad in search of better working conditions.
“The rate at which our members are leaving is unprecedented and should be a source of national concern,” he stated.
He also listed poor remuneration, irregularities in salaries of newly employed members, and low hazard allowances as some of the critical areas that the government needs to address.
Awodun referred to the recent downgrading of membership certificates, which he said undermines years of rigorous postgraduate training. He also warned that doctors face severe fatigue and burnout, which increases the risk of medical errors and deteriorates their physical and mental well-being.
He therefore called for the implementation of safe and reasonable call-hour policies that protect both doctors and patients.
Despite the challenges, Awodun noted that the ARD-UITH had made significant strides, including mobilizing over N70 million to complete the construction of 11 self-contained apartments designated for members and medical students.
“We advocated for and achieved the employment of 48 new resident doctors by the hospital management to reduce workload and curb burnout among our members,” he said.
The ARD-UITH president also explained that the association had organized the maiden edition of an entrepreneurship seminar aimed at equipping members with practical knowledge and skills to attain financial stability.
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