Urgent Need to Tackle Shortage of Doctors at DASH through Improved Welfare

Shortage of doctors is the major challenge facing the Nasarawa State government owned ‘Dalhatu Araf Specialist Hospital (DASH)’, Lafia, as another set of 24 medical doctors had left the hospital recently due to poor welfare, reports Igbawase Ukumba

The rate at which medical doctors are leaving the Dalhatu Araf Specialist Hospital (DASH), Lafia in recent times is alarming, hence the Nasarawa State Houses of Assembly had to call on the state government to intervene towards halting the mass exodus of doctors from the tertiary health institution.

Probably in Nasarawa State, medical doctors are being demotivated, hence they do not want to come to the state. Hitherto, In the past six months, several medical doctors had resigned from the services of the Nasarawa State government.

It is pertinent to state that the federal government had this year reviewed the Consolidated Medical Salaries Scale for doctors and other health workers. The implementation started in February, and the arrears ought to be paid in the month of March. This has not been allegedly implemented in Nasarawa State.

Nevertheless, in 2022, Governor Abdullahi Sule was reportedly said to have promised Resident Doctors that hazard allowance was going to be implemented whenever the federal government implements the reviewed hazard allowance in the country, but investigation revealed that up till this moment, it was yet to be implemented in Nasarawa State.

No doubt, this has created a wide salary disparity between doctors working with the Nasarawa State government and those of the Federal Teaching Hospitals or the Federal Medical Centres.

Explaining the rationale behind the mass exodus of doctors from DASH, President of the National Association of Resident Doctors in Nasarawa State, Dr. Yakubu Adeleke, said the mass resignation of medical doctors operating in hospitals across the 13 Local Government Areas of the state, was due to the non-implementation of promotion for eight years and the poor welfare package of the state government.

Speaking with journalists in Lafia recently, the state’s NARD President, Adeleke narrated that for over two years, they (doctors) had been reaching out to the state government to take steps towards addressing their demands bordering on welfare, but all their efforts proved abortive.

He lamented that despite the several promises of the state governor, Abdullahi Sule, to address the plights of the medical practitioners in the state, nothing had been done about their demands.

He said: “Doctors in Nasarawa State have been stagnated-no promotion. Some doctors have been working for eight years without promotion. Non-implementation of the National Minimum Wage and consequential adjustment of our salaries as well as non-payment of hazard allowance.

“Recently, the federal government reviewed the Consolidated Medical Salaries Scale for doctors and other health workers. The implementation started in February, and the arrears ought to be paid in the month of March. This has not also been implemented here in Nasarawa State.

“ In year 2022, Governor Abdullahi Sule promised the Resident Doctors that hazard allowance is going to be implemented whenever the federal government implements the reviewed hazard allowance in the country, but up till this moment, it is yet to be implemented in Nasarawa State.

“This has created a wide salary disparity between doctors working with the Nasarawa State government and those of the Federal Teaching Hospitals or the Federal Medical Centers.

Adeleke continued that apart from these challenges, the Resident Doctors were short-staffed in all ramifications, so there was work overload.

“This is demotivating, and it is not encouraging doctors to come to Nasarawa State. Therefore, I am calling on the state government to urgently look into these issues and proffer a lasting solution to them”, the Nasarawa NARD President appealed.”

Meanwhile, investigations by THISDAY indicated that in the past six months, no fewer than 59 medical doctors had resigned from the services of the Nasarawa state Government. Out of the figure, 20 medical doctors left in the quest for greener pasture, while 39 resigned on account of poor condition of service.

Also, in the last two years, the Nasarawa State Government-owned General and Specialist Hospitals have been characterised by unstable industrial harmony, strikes, protests, and resignations of health workers, especially doctors due to inadequate working conditions.

Further findings showed that the impact of the mass resignation by the medic was presently being felt at the Dalhatu Araf Specialist Hospital, Lafia, especially at the Surgical, Gynecology, and Outpatient Units of the facility as a large number of patients were seen waiting for long hours to access care.

Speaking on the development, a senior official in the administrative unit of the DASH, who pleaded to speak under the condition of anonymity, said they received over 25 resignation letters from doctors within two days.

In an interview, one of the female doctors said she had run out of patience after working with the state government for many years without any improvements, hence she was left with the only option of throwing in the towel.

“I need to go somewhere that will priotise me. If the Nasarawa State government really wants doctors to stay in the state, they need to do something about it in terms of welfare and the workload. Now, as doctors are resigning, they are going to start searching for doctors, but there are no sufficient doctors in the country.

“I had been called for job employments in several institutions without even applying, but I declined with the hope that the Nasarawa State government will do the needful, but after spending years here without any progress, I had no choice but to take a decision,” she declared.

Reacting, the State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Gaza Gwamna, explained that the state government had commenced the implementation of welfare packages for the doctors in the state.

Therefore, Dr. Gwamna appealed to the remaining doctors working with the state government to remain calm, adding that the state government had also begun the process of employment to fill the vacant positions.

He said, “It is just unfortunate that it (mass resignation) is happening. There have been issues of promotion and also the issues of hazard allowance that have been pending for a long time. However, implementation has already started.”

Ironically, when the management of DASH appeared before the Nasarawa State House of Assembly committee on health on May 31, 2024 to defend its 2024 budget performance, the Chief Medical Director of the hospital, Dr. Ikrama Hassan, however, still identified shortage of doctors, as a major challenge facing the hospital, stressing that 24 medical doctors have recently left the hospital.

In a swift reaction, the House Committee chairman on health, Larry Ven-Bawa, tasked the state government to initiate deliberate policies that wii reduce increase in brain drain at the Dalhatu Araf Specialist Hospital, Lafia.

Ven-Bawa lamented that the rate at which medical doctors were leaving the DASH in recent times has been a source of concern, hence the need for the House to call on the government to do the needful. He noted that from the information gathered from the CMD of the hospital, 24 medical doctors have left the hospital.