Why medical doctors are leaving Gombe

Due to ‘poor welfare package,’ medical doctors are leaving the services of the Gombe State Government in droves to look for ‘greener pastures’ in Federal Government establishments and those in other states. In February 2020 alone, at least 15 doctors were said to have left, adding to 30 others who also left in the last […]

Due to ‘poor welfare package,’ medical doctors are leaving the services of the Gombe State Government in droves to look for ‘greener pastures’ in Federal Government establishments and those in other states.

In February 2020 alone, at least 15 doctors were said to have left, adding to 30 others who also left in the last six months. Their action was said to have been influenced by poor condition of service, bad working environment and poor salary package, among other reasons.

Their exodus is also attributed to nonpayment of promotion arrears and delayed promotion. They also accused the state government of paying them salaries of house officers despite the fact that they are medical officers.

Daily Trust Saturday gathered that most of them are leaving for the Federal Teaching Hospital (FTH), Gombe and other health facilities in neighbouring states, where they have good salary packages and conducive working environments.

It was also learnt that, on getting admission, medical students from the state are given automatic employment and placed on a N24, 000 monthly salary, which is expected to be reviewed to N130, 000 when they complete their studies and eventually join the state civil service as medical officers.

But according to findings, after taking up the employment, they receive the N24,000 for over 12 months without getting the opportunity to enjoy N130, 000, a situation that discourages many of them.

Some of the doctors who left, told Daily Trust Saturday under the condition of anonymity that the delay in reviewing their salaries, coupled with the fact that they are posted to rural areas where they are forced to live in dilapidated houses on the meager salary, coupled with lack of good working equipment, forced many of them to look for jobs elsewhere.

“Apart from good working environment, the pay is better than what is obtained in the state. For instance, a fresh doctor at the FTH receives N270, 000, excluding other allowances,” one of the doctors said.

Another doctor said they were not overworked at the FTH. “This is unlike state health care centres where we work for over 48 hours nonstop, in addition to working as doctors on-call on alternate days because our colleagues are leaving almost on a daily basis,” he said.

In a press statement to declare an indefinite strike, the state chairman of the National Association of Residents Doctors (NARD), Dr Saidu Alhassan, stated that one of their reasons for embarking on the strike was the exodus of his colleagues from the services of the state government.

“Our doctors are leaving for neighbouring states due to poor welfare package. About six months ago, we lost about 30 doctors, and last month, we also lost 15 of them. For most of us that are still available, the load is getting too much.

“Also, about 16 doctors doing their internship at the FTH, Gombe have not been upgraded. In addition to this, about 90 per cent of doctors have issues of promotion while others have not been paid salaries for over 11 months despite working as medical officers,” Dr Alhassan stated.

Investigation by Daily Trust Saturday also revealed that even corps members who were posted to the state as medical doctors are rejecting such postings following the failure of the state government to meet up with its obligations to them. It was alleged that they work for months without receiving their N65, 000 monthly allowance.

One of such doctors, Kelly Emelis Wurudai said the limited number of medical doctors in the state and the ongoing strike had mounted an unprecedented pressure on them.

Dr Wurudai, who completed his National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) scheme last September but continued as a contract staff at the Infectious Disease Hospital, Zambuk, Yamaltu-Deba Local Government Area, said he attended to over 40 patients on a daily basis, a situation that mounts intense pressure on him.

He said that out of the four doctors in the facility, he was the only one on duty as the three others had joined the ongoing strike. According to him, even before the strike, a doctor attended to an average of 30 patients daily.

He explained that due to the situation on ground, they only performed emergency surgeries and referred other cases to private hospitals and clinics.

He also said the failure of the state government to pay their monthly stipends of

N65, 000 had affected the number of corps members serving in the state. According to him, as a result of this, most of them applied for redeployment to other states.

When contacted, officials of the state Ministry of Health said most of the problems were inherited from the previous administration.

The commissioner for health in the state, Dr Ahmed Gana, said the ministry was fully aware of the concerns of the doctors, but despite the financial constraints of the state, they have already set up machineries to address their demands.

“As a short term measure, N5.65million has already been released to 13 house officers in order to palliate the effect of their delayed upgrade, pending the constitution of the Civil Service Commission,” he said.

Gana added that arrangements had reached advanced stages to secure accreditation to commence internship training for graduating doctors at the state’s specialist hospital, which he said would go a long way in improving manpower.

He further said they had also established a Hospital Management Board in an effort to holistically address most of the yearnings of the doctors, especially with respect to promotion and upgrade of the entire health sector.