The Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD), University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH) chapter, on Friday, called on the Federal Government to release the circular on the one-for-one policy for the replacement of exited workers in the health sector to reduce the effect of brain drain.
The leader of the association at UBTH, Dr David Orhewere, who made the call during the 45th anniversary of the chapter in Benin City, Edo State, We demand the immediate release of the circular on the one-for-one policy for the replacement of exited health workers for implementation.
“We cannot continue to watch our members lose their lives and break down under the weight of work overload occasioned by the massive depletion of clinical staff members in hospitals on account of brain drain”.
Orhewere, who appealed to the government to ensure the payment of the 2023 Medical Residency Training Fund to its members, said while some members had been paid, others had yet to receive payments.
He added, “The 2023 Medical Residency Training Fund has been paid recently, but we still have a lot of persons pending, and we want to appeal to the government using this medium to make good its promises to pay for the remaining of our resident doctors that are due for this payment for the year 2023 so that we would continue to have a conducive and peaceful atmosphere for our training”.
He said the association in her commitment to curb brain drain on one hand, was also faced with the issue of remuneration on the other hand, calling on relevant stakeholders to address the issue of remuneration to curb the effect of brain drain in the healthcare system.
He said, “Brain drain has been a challenge to us as an association. It has been with us from time immemorial, but it has been accelerated recently by the fact that there has been poor remuneration and also by the fact that the economic condition in the country has been steadily declining”.
