About 500 medical consultants have in the last two years resigned from their positions in government hospitals to pursue better conditions of service outside the country.

The Medical and Dental Consultants Association of Nigeria (MDCAN) attributes this brain drain to the unresolved disputes between the government and health professionals.

The association’s president, Victor Makanjuola, warned that the mass migration was causing a crisis in the health sector and affecting medical consultants in various fields.

This statement was made by Mr Makanjuola on Sunday while briefing journalists on the resolution adopted at the association’s annual general meeting in Benin.

“In the last two years, over 500 consultants have left the services of governments’ hospitals for practice abroad. All our government hospitals are consultant-led, which is the global standard practice.

“Now, we lose 500 consultants in just two years, and we have found out that those who are more likely to leave are the younger ones,” Mr Makanjuola said.

“The disaster which brian drain will bring will be doubled because we will lose the younger ones and the older ones will retire about the same time, and unfortunately we will find a medical system without consultants.

“This will affect the standard of health care given the hospital,” he added.

Despite the already existing burden, brain drain continues to plague Nigeria’s health sector.

As against the Word Health Organization (WHO)’s recommendation of a 1:600 doctor-population ratio, Nigeria currently operates at 1:4000-5000.

There is no sustainable end in sight as medical workers continue to hunt for prompt payment of wages and better working conditions outside the country.