The United Kingdom’s General Medical Council (GMC) has revealed that the number of Nigerian doctors currently practising in the United Kingdom is 7,875.
The GMC, a government body that maintains the UK’s official register of medical practitioners also revealed that India, Pakistan and Nigeria are the countries with the highest number of doctors currently practising in the UK.
A recent check on the website of the UK medical council showed that the number of Nigerian doctors working in the UK increased from 7,870 to 7,875 in less than a week. It should be noted that Nigerian doctors who were trained in other countries but relocated to the UK were not part of the 7,870.
The Nigeria Labour Congress, the Nigerian Medical Association and the National Association of Resident Doctors have reacted to the council’s revelations.
While reacting to the development, the NLC said the migration of medical personnel did not look good. It stated that Nigeria needed to appraise its reward system and the condition of service for health workers.
The Nigeria Medical Association labeled the ongoing migration of medical doctors as “second peak of doctors’ mass exodus” following the mass exodus of medical practitioners from Nigeria in the 90s.
While talking about the migration, the NMA President said: “This is the second peak of doctors’ mass exodus from the country. In the 1990s, doctors left Nigeria for Saudi Arabia and they are leaving again. I think what is happening is that they are not receiving the satisfaction they deserve. The work environment is not encouraging, the equipment for practice is in adequate. The salary is meagre. They go to where their service is appreciated.
“The issue of insecurity is also there, many doctors have been kidnapped. We don’t know maybe the kidnappers are targeting them or it is just a coincidence. What I think should be done holistically is for the government to conduct a research and find out why the doctors are leaving.”
The President of National Association of Resident Doctors, Dr Aliyu Sokomba, stated that poor working condition is the reason for the exodus of doctors from Nigeria.
While talking to Punch, Sokomba, said it was unfortunate that a lot of hospitals in Nigeria lacked basic medical equipment.
He said: “The work condition here is terrible, when better opportunities come our doctors leave. It is beyond what people think. The work condition is one thing the government has continued to neglect .
“This is demoralising. Why will someone continue to work in this kind of environment? Meanwhile, there is a place you can go, work and have job satisfaction, why won’t you leave?”
