The General Medical Council of the United Kingdom has granted new accreditation to 91 doctors trained in Nigeria.
According to local media, “Punch,” it was noted that the accreditation of the 91 doctors took place in 15 days between October 10 and October 25, 2022.
The total number of doctors trained in Nigeria in the UK is now 10,387. Among the 10,387 physicians, 5,210 are associate specialists, 2,318 physicians in training, 1,837 general practitioners and 1,273 specialists.
The accreditation of the 91 doctors came amid protests by the Medical Association of Nigeria against the brain drain plaguing the healthcare sector.
In addition to doctors, other categories of health professionals are also migrating.
Recall that PUNCH, a Nigerian media platform, reported earlier that statistics have shown that between January 1, 2022, and September 30, 2022, around 1,307 trained Nigerian doctors were admitted to the UK, while Nigeria continues to deal with one of the worst brain drain situations.
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However, Nigerian doctors who obtained medical qualifications from schools outside the country are not included in the data. The NMA, while lamenting the high turnover rate in the medical field, said Nigeria could import doctors in the future.
Nigeria currently has the third highest number of foreign doctors working in the UK after India and Pakistan.
The National President of the Association of Medical and Dental Consultants of Nigeria, Dr. Commenting on the situation earlier, Victor Makanjuola said;
“In the past two years, I estimate that more than 500 consultants have left government hospital services to work abroad. All of our government hospitals are consultant-led practices, which is the global standard. We lost 500 in just two years, and found that those most likely to leave are the youngest.
“To sustain the system and be able to educate the next generation of doctors and medical students, Nigeria needs to keep the older consultants who are in their 50s and close to retirement so they can stay behind and educate the next generation of doctors. and doctors. students.
“Otherwise, the brain drain disaster would be doubled because we would lose the youngest and the oldest at the same time and you would find yourself in a system without advisers. This would affect the standard of care and the quality of care in hospitals.”
