Read Reuben Abati's article here
Another piece I thought my readers would be interested in for those who missed it on the news. NHS is closing its doors to foreign doctors.I think this is just the beginning, it is slowly going to cut across several other fields. England has been screaming immigrants must go for a while now, just like we screamed Ghana must go sometime back. I know loads of Nigerians here practising as doctors, I fear that they may not get their contracts renewed, what then would happen to them? Please tell me what you think?
Friday, February 08, 2008
Still on the issue of decency.
Posted by For the love of me at 1:47 AM
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29 comments:
They should all come back home.
It is a thoughtful idea, assuming this happened in Nigeria, we will want our qualified graduates to find jobs and the foreigners there will be laid off...
It is unfortunate that they plan to do this now, it should have been done years ago and they would have avoided this pending mess.
@none-such, don't we wish it was so easy, but I do hope that this will teach the rest of us at home that the alternatives are getting limited. We have no choice now but to all work towards a great naija.I hope yardy and the likes of Eme Ekaette read these news.Canada I hear, is also closing its doors to African doctors.
@allied, it suits them now thats why they are doing it, they wanted us before coz they didnt have enough of their own. I would want nothing more than to see most of their engineers leave our country while we start to drill our own oil, but its probably never going to happen.
i read the rueben abati article!he is a good writer and i am always intrigued by his writing!!!I am really getting tired of the Govt obsession with indecent dressing!We need to focus on the impt things first!Is it going to fix bad roads,is it going to create jobs for people,it it going to stop emblezzing of public funds NO!!!!let them priortize and find solutions to the pressing needs of the nation instead of focusing on how civil servants should dress!!!
let me go n read on the other issue well then comment on it!
interesting indeed...as the us is also cracking down on immigrants, i am wondering where all our brain drain will drain to...hopefully back home...but, it means the government [ours] needs to be ready to compensate them appropriately...
...but, i wonder what that will mean for health care in the uk and us, especially since so many of the doctors are foreign educated...i know in the us, there is grave concern because so few people are still interested in practicing medicine...
The complaints about immigrants are certainly getting louder. But before they shut the door, they should let me get a foot in.
this is the classic m.o. of the west - encourage ppl to come and build their institutions, then discourage them at the end of their 'usefulness'. what the article said quietly was that these positions wld still be open to eu citizens.
@pink satin, yes Reuben Abati is a great writer, the issue of indecent dressing depresses me mostly because it shows the calibre of people in power, if they are such non-thinkers as this indicates, how then can they take Nigeria forward?
@guerrila in nigeria, yeah hopefully it will lead back home, I have since given up on the nigerian govt.
@ headand around, perhaps there is room for two more feet.
@jinta,i guess a leopard can never change its colour, the west will always be the west, dates back to the days of slave trade.Hopefully one day Africa will wake up.
@ nonesuch
What do u mean by "They should all come back home"? Come back to come and do what? I'm not sure you realise the dire state of medical facilities in Nigeria now. In order to make ends meet, some doctors now cut people up and sew them back for no sensible medical reason. They do this so that they can be paid operating fees. The health sector in Nigeria is in such a terrible state that humans in saner climes would run away fast. From what I know, the lack of openings in UK/ Europe for foreign doctors has led the foreigners to look elsewhere. I have quite a number of doctor friends who have turned to the Carribean- Trinidad and Tobago precisely. They can easily adapt to the medical practises in such places because they practise Tropical medicine like we do in Nigeria. Their diseases are often similar to ours. In such places, doctors can earn a decent living and live a good life. The question is - When would the Nigerian Health situation be put right?
@comrade. I dare say it again. They should come back home. Why do we keep complaining about the 'dire state of everything' when instead of staying to begin to put the bricks together we run to 'Trindad and Tobago' as if we are all not part of the problem or solution depending of which side of the mirror you are looking at.
If they say no more 'African Doctors or Professionals' come back home.
PS: Quite a number of Nigeria companies are taking GIANT STRIDES in changing the 'dire state' of the Health Sector.Pathcare Nigeria is one of such. Google it.And believe me many more will rise to the challenge if only they will come back home.
I understand the attitude many countries have towards immigrants. Though I believe on some level it is blown out of proportion. In this case, there are probably better ways to address the fears this new law is based on.
Nevertheless, I wonder how practical it is to not bring in foreign doctors. The fact is that countries like India and Nigeria produce more doctors than many developed nations as a percentage. As wealthy countries continue to have aging populations, they will need more medical practitioners. This will require the 'import' of doctors and nurses.
Again, I understand where they are coming from, but I am not sure about the practicality. Besides, isn't the EU introducing its version of the American Green card specifically for highly skilled workers? I guess England can simply opt out of the program, but the fluid boundaries of the EU will make it hard to keep immigrants out.
Really nice post. I had not heard about this, so thanks for educating me!
Hmmmm I don't know who to agree with here....my mum has been in the Nigerian Health sector for more than 30 years, she is a surgical nurse. I have seen how horrible it is....we almost all starved to death...never paid on time and being on call at all hours in the neighbourhood. If you see the kind of "instruments" they had to use, yes it is "dire" indeed. The private sector was better, but then again, she was always so sad that the people who needed help the most could never afford it.Nevertheless, I guess the humanitarian in her made her continue.
On the other hand, my sister is a doctor and she too grew up seeing the horrible conditions my mum had to work in....working in Nigeria is not an option for her, she says, and I understand her.
I have realised that nobody can do anything for the Nigerian healthhcare but the GOVERNMENT!yes the Government has to rise up to its name and provide better funding and better working environment..Its only in 9ja that the Minister of health is not a Doctor...i have had friends here in yankee who moved back home and tried to set up NGO'S and help in various but all their efforts have been frustrated by the ministry of health..this people simply do not care..and you now want doctors abroad to come back home for what?...I keep saying the problem with Nigeria is the leaders..if they did their jobs instead of embezzling funds things will be much better...ok!see Dora Akunyili the Nafdac woman..b4 she was the Director General of Nafdac i didnt know there was a position like that..this woman came in and did a good job,people tried to kill her but she continued doing her job...beacuse of her good leadership most of the employees followed suit and now see how Nafdac has educated the Nigerian public on consumer goods esp Medication!Do you know how many pple had died from fake drugs!!what i am just trying to say is that the Government has to do its job and put things into place first and then get the support of the people!
All well discoursed (for & against). Eventually, this leads us to realise two things:
1. Only in your home can one be at peace.
2. A nation can get better if her people are willing to contribute their widows' mites (even if it entails a little perseverance).
Be that as it may, i hear the sound of heavy rain. Yep.
Hey thanks for stopping by.
This is a very interesting post and am itching to drop my 2cents because I am involved in the medical industry and live in london but av got to dash somewhere now, so I'll definitely be back.
not again
thy will all come home
@nonesuch and all
I don't know if you've followed the news recently. The emergency ward at LUTH was recently shutdown. This was because some Area boys brought one of their colleagues for treatment. They warned the doctors and nurses on duty that all hell would break loose if the wounded area boy died. To cut a long story short, the boy died and all hell broke loose. Hospital facilities were vandalised by the thugs and staff were beaten up. This happened last year, except that there was a fatality involved in the previous incident. A senior nurse lost her life in last year's visit of the area boys. How do you reconcile that? A doctor is asked to do his duty and told that if anything happens to the patient, he is in trouble. I can tell you that this is a normal occurence at Public hospitals in Lagos.
Apart from the HMO thing which is now gaining ground in Nigeria, there has been no significant improvement in the health sector in the country. Under the last administration, VAMED Engineering supplied new equipment to various teaching hospitals in Nigeria. A recent visit by a Senate commitee on health showed that the "brand-new" equipment had broken down in some cases. UCH CMD came out to say that their brandnew MRI scanner had packed up in less than 2 years of use.
I beleive in Nigeria and will work towards the good of the country. However I will not join the crusade of telling people who are working hard outside the country to come and join us to 'enjoy what we are enjoying'. There are local industries that I would advise skilled folks to move back to. e.g Oil and Gas, Telecommunications.
The Nigerian Health sector is in a comatose state and is far from recovery
@ Comrade and all
I say again THEY SHOULD ALL COME BACK. God rest the soul of the Nurse who pass at the LUTH incident. Its sad and unfortunate. But then if ALL will come back home and PUSH for a change cos I believe me ALL hands need to be on DECK not in the UK NHS or the US Medic Aid or Trinidad & Tobago or any other places they all ESCAPE to trying to get away from the many problems of Nigeria.
The earlier we wake up and smell the coffee that our SALVATION is in our HANDS the better. If leadership is the problem let ALL come back and contest, vote the right people in. We all see what is hapening with the Election Tribunals.
I'm ALL for looking at solutions and focusing less on the problems.
Comrade do not give up the fight and dont check out. Like my friends said,"now that NIGERIA needs them(all the brodas and sistas 'slaving' away in other countries all over the world apart from Naija,contributing to the the growth and development of those Nations in Europe, Asia and The Americas), they are too good for their country. When those of us at home fight and risk so many things, and make NIGERIA better, they will all want to run home and proudly say that they are NIGERIANS"
But like I told her we will wear our Scars proudly and they will wonder why didnt stay to fight in the War.
Again I say to every wandering soul out there Ajo o dabi ile meaning North or South Home is the BEST!
@comrade; I speak for Lagos as I'm not sure what obtains in other states but Doctors do not have problems getting jobs.They may not be well paid but the jobs are there. My very close doctor friend just finished service and has changed jobs three times already. My hubby is a doc, and doesn't have problems getting adhoc jobs here and there which is what he prefers to do. He also worked in General hospital for abt three years, they have more patients than they can count and if it is not entirely free, it is highly subsidised, so if a doctor decides to cut and sew a patient just for money, I dont see how that is the govt's fault.The doctor should remeber his oath. I used to work somewhere in Lagos Island myself and I have taken staff to a certain hospital on Military street Onikan(cant remember the name) for treatment, consultation was entirely free, all we paid for were drugs.While I think that the Nigerian health system still has a loooooong way to go, I will say that there are changes. Like you mentioned, the HMO's have helped a lot. Do you know that you can be covered by Hmo's for as low as 20k per annum(and this includes so many hospitals), while I will not be as callous as to say that every Nigerian can afford this, some people can, danfo drivers can, conductors can if only most of them will not spend every evening drowning bottles of star and buying phone cards for several girlfriends.I am sorry about the Luth nurse who died. By the way, Please update your blog
My last comment should simply have been a post, because it was so long, I decided to respond to others separately.
@none such,I agree with you, the govt wil not make things work as they have proven, We will.
@solomonsydelle, I too do not understand the practically of the 'law'.Perhaps because their doors are still open to EU nationals, they have figured they wont have a shortage.
@waffarian, it was tough those days, my mum too was in the civil service and hardly received her salaries but I think civil servants all get paid promptly now, at least I hope so.
@pink satin, perhaps you are right but do you really see the govt doing anything?
@rethots, my sentiments exactly
@naija chic, please come back,we would all like ur opinion
@overwhelmed, not again?
@nonesuch, while I do not begrudge anybody who chooses to live abroad,what I do not understand is some of their attitude towards their home country.
Sad, it wont work though.
@ nonesuch, for the love of me
I see your points of views. However, If you check in my earlier replies, I never mentioned that doctors are roaming the streets or don't have job opportunities. My issue is that they don't have the right environment to work and flourish in. Look at the scenario. A doctor spends 6-7 years in training. He does a year of housemenship and then goes for service. By the time , he is ready to start full work about 8 years of his life has been taken away. He comes out and discovers he has to start applying for jobs in clinics in Lagos. At this time, folks that entered University 3 years after him and did 4 year courses would have finished and probably started earning 100k a month. I beleive you can find out the salaries that "Blue-chip" hospitals like Eko, St. Nicholas and Bridge Clinic pay Graduate doctors. This is the point when frustration begins to set in. Medicine is different from other professions. A potential banker, accountant, engineer or lawyer knows he is going to have to hustle to make it in life. Medical practise is not designed to thrive on "hustling"
Medicine is about care for human life. Doctors really do not understand how to hustle like the rest of us who are in other more "lucrative" professions. Medical School is a cool and calm environment. They come out of it thinking the world is like that. Alas, they are shocked. No healthy transportation, no electricity, no water. The main reasons why doctors are checking out enmasse is that they can't adjust to the reality of the Nigerian situation.
My own understanding of the situation is this - Young Nigerian engineers go abroad to go and do a Masters in Oil and Gas and come back to this country. Nobody tells them to come back. They come back because they know Shell, Mobil and Chevron will be waiting for them.
Oil exploration techniques in Nigeria are not different from those outside.
With the advent of GSM in Nigeria, nobody needs to tell Engineers to come back home. There are so many telecom opportunities in Nigeria The GSM equipment they work with abroad is what they'll work with at home. No difference. They'll make more money in Nigeria because of our Low Tax situation
The question is - If our doctors move back, Will they work with the same equipment? Will they live good lives?
If we put things right and set up a proper framework for the Health Industry, we won't need to tell them to move back. They will come back of their own accord
@ Comarde
I agree with you that Doctors are not prepared for 'hussling'. They are the most 'frustrated' set of Professional if i may say so. I'm sure you can all remember the feeling of superiority most of them wear when we were in school. They walk and talk like they are superior beings and those in Theatre Arts and other non professional courses were like no do goods. lol. Their Professors constantly tell them they are better than all. The hype about how they are the solution to the world's problems, all of humanityu is waiting for them to qualifty and cure Cancer etc etc. The feeling of playing God after witnessing a vaginal birth of some posh lady they would never be able to tie the buckle of her sandal.The hero worshipping by the Nurses and other 'lesser' humans in the medicalfood chain. All these I beleive contributes to the delusion of the Medical Student. When they become Doctors they are faced with the reality that to survive in the real world outside the sterile cocoons of the consulting rooms and wards you need more than seven A1 in SSCE . That 'idiot' who managed to graduate from Sociology with a Thrid class is now a Manager in PHBank and you can wrap your head from that. The next thing is to check out!
The so called blue chip hospitals are a facade (I know,take it from me). Go to all 3 you listed and find out how much they pay and its still a far cry from where it should be.
I come from a family of 3 generations in the medical professionals and no I didnt try to study medicine at all. I also will not actively encourage any of my boys to study medicine. Why? I dont want them to think passing PLAB is a life Goal.
okay, at comrade, none such and myself, this issue is hereby closed.
many might end up travelling to yankee and helping the US with its growing doctor shortage....from what I heard this measure is being put into place in order to discourage the brain drain from Africa - but this will definitely not do it, unfortunately.
now to actually respond to the comments...
@nonesuch - i agree. unfortunately, it is only the extremely "hopeful" and "idealistic" amongst us that pursue such an option. also, i can speak to the US situation of Nigerians. In the US, going abroad, to practice medicine is not encouraged, both within during that admissions stage and when you finish with thousands of dollars of debt. I can speak more to this if someone is interested. And nonesuch, please continue to educate people that the Nigeria they left like ten years ago has changed - there have been some amazing strides that the country has made and I think it needs to be highlighted more often. and to comrade - if the nigerian health sector is comatose, who is then responsible for waking her up?
In the east, and also amongst some firebrand easterners here in the US, there have been shouts to reinstate Biafra - to go back home and fight etc. etc. Note that these voices are in the minority. But rather than die for a lost cause (or complain about it) why not "die" for the cause of bettering Nigeria through your profession. Okay, so there is no advanced equipment in Naija to practice medicine - why not teach medicine. Go home and do something (I am talking to myself too). Especially us younger ones who have not yet started families. And hey, maybe in the process you might find a nice Naija husband/wife to settle down with at home (I say this lightly, don't mind me)
@pink-satin - I beg to differ - I say this with all kindness. I think many of the strides that have been made in Nigeria have been made outside of the public sector. I have given up on a revolution (yes, borrowing solomonsydelle's words) in the government. I think the private sector is where the action is in terms of business, education, science, entertainment/tourism, and health. I think the people shoudl demand better from themselves, because crying to the government has hardly helped us. This is just my opinion - I am appreciative of differing opinions.
@in my head and around me: lol
@for the love of me - thanks for your insight on the situation on ground....sorry for posting these comments after you closed the conversation - came in a little late.
@Nneoma thanx,it was nice to hear someone talk about the changes in Nigeria from soneone in the diaspora.The generation in power is lost and it is left for the young ones to push Nigeria forward. I closed the conversation just among nonesuch, comrade and myself.
we should all go home, but home aint that easy. for me to go home i must have plan A, B and C, plus prayers. cos naija is an erratic place
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