The state of the present healthcare system in Nigeria can be likened to a vehicle whos engine is bad, so that its not moving, not doing its job. Then someone comes along, nail and hammer in hand, and punctures all four tyres, hoping that this will get the car started and moving again. When I learnt about the suspension of the Residency programme (and thus the sacking of all resident doctors), I wondered who brought up such a stupid suggestion? Resident doctors are the live wire of all teaching hospitals and FMCs in Nigeria. The work their asses off to ensure that to the best of their ability, the system works, in spite of the innumerable inadequacies facing them and other health workers. The residency programme is what makes Nigeria have specialists in different fields of medicine, and someone just wakes up one day and scraps it! Like seriously?!!! And you think posterity will applaud you for amputating the legs of an already paralysed healthcare system? Issorait! And some people who obviously know no better actually applause the government and say It serves the doctors right. Such naivety! Its you, Nigerians, everyday people who bear the brunt of it. You cant access quality healthcare except you pay through your noses or garner enough money to travel on medical tourism to India or some other country whos leaders arent using their political positions to scatter their healthcare systems. Some even say all sorts about how heartless doctors are, that they didnt come to fight Ebola. You make me laugh! A doctor who when theres no Ebola cant find simple gloves and syringes to work with should come and put his wife and children at risk (yes, he has mouths to feed), he should come and willingly sacrifice his life on the altar so that when he dies his wife would be paid N5000 to take care of herself and her children till theyre grown. By the way, I should mention that doctors in Northern Nigeria while the strike was ongoing, attended to bomb blast patients. Doctors preserve life. Going unprotected to interact with an as yet cureless virus with such a high mortality rate without assurance of the support of your government isnt preserving life, its suicide. Except its a deeper love that compels you, in which case it may be said Ah! He died for love!. And yes, brain drain. So many Nigerian doctors write foreign licensing exams every year so that they can emigrate and practise medicine in better working climates. Well, that number just increased. You talk about brain drain, yet you frustrate the available brains. Brain drain is happening, and is even more rapid. Maybe itll soon be brain disappearance! This doesnt mean that doctors are superior to other Nigerians, its just so obvious with anyone with brains that we, as a country need their services. This is to some individuals who make it their responsibility to display their foolishness when they talk about how the health sector doesnt need doctors anyway. Quoting John Gardner, the society which scorns excellence in plumbing as a humble activity and tolerates shoddiness in philosophy because it is an exalted activity will have neither good plumbing nor good philosophy: neither its pipes nor its theories will hold water. Nigeria needs her doctors, her nurses, her laboratory scientists, her optometrists, cleaners, and all other health workers to build an efficient system and provide effective healthcare to her citizens. I had to type this because of all the blood-curling rubbish Ive been seeing expressed by naive individuals online. I should go to bed now. Long live NMA! Long live Federal Republic of Nigeria!
Posted on: Sat, 16 Aug 2014 21:12:59 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015