Doctors’ association laments exodus of members from Ekiti

The Ekiti branch of the Nigeria Medical Association (NMA) is lamenting the mass exodus of doctors from the state in search of greener pasture.

The chairman, Dr Babatunde Rosiji, decried the rate on Wednesday in Ado-Ekiti when he paid a courtesy visit to the Nigeria Union of Journalists’ secretariat.

He said doctors’ exodus from the state was of particular concern for stakeholders and for the leadership of the NMA.

“Doctors in Ekiti are leaving Nigeria. As at today, we have just 85 consultants. We are supposed to have 800 doctors in Ekiti, but as at today, we have just 500.

“In some hospitals in Ekiti, we have one medical doctor. In the best case scenario, we have two doctors instead of nine.

“Things are going wrong in the health sector in Ekiti. I hope we won’t get to the point where we will see native doctors in our hospitals,’’ he said.

Rosiji stressed that there was the need to arrest the trend which had led to a dearth capable doctors to attend to patients.

He also called on the state government to look into the welfare of health workers in the state for effective service delivery.

Rosiji also told newsmen that the NMA in Ekiti was waging a war against quackery.