Poor Working Conditions Driving Health Workers Abroad—Expert

A neurosurgeon, Dr Ugochukwu Ugwuanyi, has urged the government to improve working conditions in the health sector to retain doctors and other health professionals in Nigeria.

Ugwuanyi, the chief executive officer of Wellington Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, Abuja, made the appeal in an interview on the sidelines of a healthcare entrepreneurship expo in Abuja.

He urged the government to improve conditions in the health sector to retain trained professionals and encourage Nigerians working abroad to return and contribute to the country’s healthcare system.

“There’s no point expending a huge chunk of government funds to train doctors and allied healthcare professionals and you don’t create an enabling environment for them to be retained and stay back and serve an expanding population,” he said.

Ugwuanyi said improving the work environment would make Nigeria more attractive to health professionals in the country and those abroad.

The neurosurgeon, who said he had trained and worked in England for more than 10 years before returning to Nigeria, described his return as an example of what he called “reverse japa”.

“Those who have gone out there will come back. And that’s where we’ll start talking about reverse japa syndrome,” he said.

Ugwuanyi also stressed the importance of mentorship in developing the next generation of healthcare professionals, saying it was necessary to ensure continuity in the sector.

“Mentorship is key because there has to be constant supply of replacement parts, people that will sustain those services when the older generations fade out,” he said.

He urged young medical practitioners to invest in training, retraining and skills acquisition to keep pace with developments in medical practice.

“Clinical medicine is very dynamic. Things are changing every day. So you cannot be treating people today with knowledge you acquired 10 years ago,” he said.

Ugwuanyi also advised medical entrepreneurs to approach healthcare as a long-term commitment, saying passion, patience and continuous professional development were essential to building sustainable healthcare enterprises.