Lokoja teaching hospital CMD raises alarm over doctors, nurses leaving
- The head of Federal Teaching Hospital Lokoja says doctors and nurses are leaving in large numbers.
- Professor Abdulrahman Shehu asked the Federal Government to act urgently and called for more health funding.
- He also defended the hospital's payment system and promised faster refunds of unspent balances.
The Chief Medical Director of the Federal Teaching Hospital, Lokoja, Professor Abdulrahman Shehu, has raised concern over the large number of doctors and nurses leaving the hospital, and called on the Federal Government to intervene urgently.
Shehu spoke when members of the Correspondents' Chapel of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Kogi State Council, visited him to ask about issues affecting the hospital. He was represented by the Chairman of the Medical Advisory Committee, Dr Raphael Odekunle.
The hospital serves patients from across Kogi State and beyond, so a shortage of doctors and nurses means longer waits and fewer hands for patients who cannot afford private care.
According to the CMD, the hospital needs more money and better facilities. He asked the Federal Government, the Kogi State Government, philanthropists and private companies to invest more in health, saying such support would help provide modern equipment and other essentials for quality, affordable care.
He also appealed to the Federal Government to step into the hospital's infrastructure, saying improved facilities are needed for it to operate at the standard expected of a teaching hospital.
Payment complaints and new systems
On the hospital's wallet payment system, Shehu said it was introduced to promote transparency and accountability and to curb fraud. He acknowledged complaints about delays in refunding patients' unspent balances and said the management is working to remove the bottlenecks.
"We are working on how best we can remove the bottlenecks associated with delays in refunding unspent money to patients," he said.
He said the hospital has brought revenue, pharmacy, laboratory and National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) units together in one place so patients do not have to move from department to department. The plan is to extend the arrangement to other parts of the hospital.
Patients with complaints should use the hospital's Servicom platform, he said, describing it as a way to get prompt attention.
On emergencies, Shehu said lives come first and that emergency cases are attended to before payment is demanded.
He also urged the federal and Kogi State governments to encourage more residents to enrol in the NHIS, and advised enrollees to check which drugs the scheme covers, noting that not all medicines are included.
The NUJ chapel chairman, Comrade Segun Ademola Salami, commended the management for upgrading facilities but asked it to address the difficulties patients face when seeking care.
What happens next
The hospital says it will keep training its staff and extend the one-stop service arrangement. Whether the doctors and nurses who left can be replaced depends on the government support the CMD has requested.