With the continued brain drain ravaging our health sector in the country, the hope of an average Nigerian getting good health services continues to hang in the balance. The sad trend has led us to the importation of our very own Nigerian medical expertise into the country.
Sometime in 2021, I had a colonoscopy at a hospital in Victoria Island, Lagos. When I was getting ready, the doctor had a conversation with me. Absolutely brilliant! He explained the process to me. I got into my hospital gown, made a few calls and the procedure was done.
A few days later, the hospital called to inform me that the result was ready and I was expecting a date when I would come in to discuss the results with my doctor. I was informed that the doctor would take me through the results via a video call. I gave my consent.
A short while later, I got a WhatsApp video call from a UK number. I picked it. It was the doctor in his scrubs. He was seated in a hospital in the United Kingdom. He went through my results with me.
One of the dangers of this brain drain that the Minister of Health and other policy makers have failed to see is that we are now importing the required medical expertise into the country.
Our hospitals now fly in Nigerian consultants from other countries to handle procedures in Nigeria, since we have a dearth of that expertise. And of course, it will come at a significant cost. What will happen to those who can’t afford that exorbitant cost?
That’s the arrangement many private hospitals now have. If you can pay, they’ll bring those good doctors who will come at a certain time, attend to the patients and go back to their countries of residence where they have their primary places of work. And those doctors are Nigerians.
The only way to cure the brain drain in Nigeria’s healthcare system is to ban all elected political appointees from seeking medical help abroad. I know our leaders don’t have the guts to do this, so citizen rights and advocacy groups should take this up.
If we prevent all political appointees and elected representatives from going abroad for medicals, our health sector will be transformed in five years. Share on XLet them lay a siege on any Government House where the occupant is seeking any medical intervention abroad. They should also sponsor private bills at the various State Houses of Assembly to stop the madness–then do the same at the National Assembly.
If we prevent all political appointees and elected representatives from going abroad for medicals, our health sector will be transformed in five years. Seeking medical help abroad by an elected representative should be an impeachable offence.
The same thing should go for the child of any elected representative studying abroad. If the system is not good enough for you or your child, you have no business leading us.
Finally, I think Government should think of introducing a health tax, something similar to the education tax which has helped a lot of tertiary institutions through the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund). TETFund received N251b in 2020. Imagine what this kind of money will do to the health sector.