…Say no legislation would bar them from traveling abroad

By Dayo Johnson, Akure

Two Vice Chancellors of Elizade University, ilara-Mokin, in Ondo state, Professor Kayode Ijadunola, and his counterpart in Achievers University, Owo, Prof Omolola Irinoye, have adduced reasons why medical personnel are rushing abroad for greener pastures.

They spoke during the induction ceremony of the 23 newly graduated professional nurses of Elizade University

 into the Nurses and Midwifery Council of Nigeria, NMCN.

Prof Ijadunola, said there is no amount of health practitioners produced that would be enough for the country considering the way they are leaving the country in droves after graduation.

He also said no legislation would bar them from traveling abroad for greener pastures.

According to him, Nigeria is producing a significant number of health workers today, including doctors and nurses, the problem is retaining those trained after their graduation.

He said that “Globally, there is the shortage of health manpower, whether it is doctors, nurses or any other profession in health-related areas, which was made worse during the Covid-19 pandemic where a significant number of health workers retired, they just left the profession and walked away, due to the mental fatigue they burn out and all the things that accompanied the Covid era.

” A number of them left, and people are looking for doctors and nurses all over the world, so whatever we produced, and we don’t treat them well, the pay, conditions of service, security in the system, and other things.

” Sometimes when our government says they want to stop professional doctors from leaving, they want to attract the ones from outside from coming back, it is the mirage of the century because the ones at home are leaving and you are saying you want to bring back the ones from outside who are so afraid of the security situation

“I will be happy if, in two years, ten percent of those who graduated today are still here because as we are producing them, they are leaving; that is the pain of our society today.

” The facilities where we work are not conducive,  the equipment is not there, the environment is toxic, and health workers remain the target of the bandit.”

Ijadunola said the proposal by the National Assembly to retain health workers in the country for five years after graduation cannot work because of the amount of money spent in training them, which may not be easily recouped.

The Vice-Chancellor said the government must do the needful by creating a conducive environment to retain the workers that we are training rather than gauging and coursing them from leaving.

Also speaking, the Vice Chancellor of Achievers University, Owo, Prof Irinoye, said inappropriate salaries for health workers and the work environment are some of the factors leading them abroad to greener pastures.

Irinoye said “People must be paid to commensurate with the nature of the work they do. And whenever you see anybody doing shifting duties, you distort their rhythm.

” What people do in many places is compensate people for the nature of the work they do. People are running out because we are not meeting essential needs.

“Where they are running to is not as if they are doing free jobs; they get reasonable money that can enable them to meet their family needs.

“Our facilities are problematic. Things people need to work on are not there. If the health professionals work according to their training, we won’t have anybody working in our health facilities again. What we have in our laboratories is not available in the hospitals, making them improvise.

“We have hospitals without enough bedsheets. There are hospitals without electricity. I have been to a teaching hospital where nurses used the light on their phones to attend to patients. The working environment is not good enough for medical personnel.

“We have to look at our human resources, we have to look at our facilities. We have hospitals without water and we are talking about infection control.

She added that We have to do a lot of things that will reduce people going to hospitals at the community level to reduce infection and chronic diseases.”

The Registrar/ Secretary General of th Nursing & Midwifery Council of Nigeria, Dr Farouk Abubakar, in his goodwill message, appealed to the inductee to ” to embrace the values of empathy, integrity, and continuous learning.

Abubakar said that ” Your dedication to providing quality healthcare is a beacon of hope in the lives of those you will serve.

“Nursing is a dynamic field, and your willingness to adapt and grow will not only benefit you but also the countless lives you touch.

“Each client you care for is a unique story, and you now hold the pen, to script positive chapters their healthcare experience.

“Together, we form a powerful force, committed to making a difference in the livesof individuals, families and communities.

“You must be able to function independently and in collaboration with other health care team members in the course of your practice at any health care setting

“We rely on you to make nursing profession proud and appealing, wherever you find yourself be a good ambassador and show kindness to those who are committed into your hand for care.