On Wednesday, Isah Adagiri, Kogi Specialist Hospital’s chief medical director, lamented the shortage of doctors.

Mr Adagiri, who cried out during the 2024 budget appraisal and projection on the floor of the Kogi House of Assembly, attributed the scarcity to brain drain.

“In spite of Governor Yahaya Bello’s standing approval to the management of the specialist hospital to replace any medical doctor that leaves the service for greener pasture, the doctors are not forthcoming. Many doctors have ‘japa-ed’, and despite our willingness to replace them by employing new ones, they are nowhere to be found.

“It’s no longer news that a lot of doctors are moving out of the country in droves for greener pastures, a situation which is negatively telling on our services as a hospital. There are lots of disadvantages in the crave for greener pastures by these doctors, who do all they could to earn every kobo being paid them.

“But because of patriotism, someone like me can’t imagine myself leaving the service to work out of the country,” the medical director explained.

Mr Adagiri disclosed that the specialist hospital recently lost a doctor who left for Dubai to work but died as a result of the hazards of working in a foreign country.

According to him, with a better welfare package, the government could discourage and stop the Japa syndrome and provide excellent healthcare delivery services in the hospitals.

“For us, in a specialist hospital, we always liaised with you, the House Committee on Health and Social Services, to get better welfare packages for our doctors. It’s my belief that better pay to our doctors will stop the syndrome and improve our service to residents of Kogi,” he said.

Similarly, the chief medical director of the Kogi State Hospital Management Board, Ayo Olayemi, appealed for approval to recruit health personnel in the newly built hospitals across the state.

Mr Olayemi made the appeal while speaking to journalists shortly after the 2024 budget appraisal of the board on the floor of the Kogi House of Assembly.

Mr Olayemi, who praised Mr Bello for building a reference hospital in Okene and another in Gegu-Beki, disclosed that the hospitals were understaffed.

He disclosed that the board had written memos to the Kogi government on the need for the hospital’s staffing, and the board needed the help of the House to impress it on the executive to approve the recruitment of staff.

“Our major proposal for year 2024 is our resolve to maintain all the medical facilities made available by Gov Bello, hence the need to renovate some of the hospitals yet untouched,” he said.

(NAN)