The Federal Government has set up a committee on health sector reform to look at the health sector issues including strikes, restiveness and the brain drain, the Chief Medical Director of Federal Medical Centre in Abuja, Prof. Saad Ahmed, has said.
He also raised fears of a brain drain in the health sector, describing it as a threat to the provision of healthcare services to the public.
Ahmed told journalists on Friday that the government should give hospitals bail out and leverage to replace staff that had left for greener pastures.
He said, “The issue of brain drain is of serious concern, which as a committee of CMDs, we were able to raise. I can tell you that the government has already set up a committee at the moment on Health Sector Reform to look at the health sector, to see areas where they need to reform in order to stop restiveness and also the brain drain that we currently have.
“At the moment, that committee is calling for a memorandum from members of the public and other stakeholders in order to help it in its assignment.
“Brain drain is one of the serious challenges that we Federal Medical Centre, Abuja, are equally facing because I know the number of Doctors, Nurses, Pharmacists that left this place within the last one year.”
Speaking also on medical tourism, Ahmed said the hospital has modern equipment at the moment to treat health issues that were making Nigerians seek help outside the country.
While acknowledging that other FMCs have the equipment for such treatment of such issues, he said, “We need to make the public know that these services are available and also see how we can minimise some of the challenges patients face when they come.”
Ahmed applauded the Federal Government for its investment in the health sector in the last two years.
“The investment the Federal Government made in the health sector, within the last two years, is quite enormous and every health facility should be able to showcase what they have and what they can do”, he said.
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