Agency The Medical and Dental Consultants Association of Nigeria has said that only 6,000 consultants are left in the country. The association’s president, Prof Muhammad Mohammad, said this during the MDCAN’s National Executive Council Meeting in Ilorin, Kwara State. The meeting is themed “Policy Making for Quality Healthcare Services: Engaging Policy Makers for Quality Healthcare Delivery”.
Mohammad noted that as of February 2024, only about 6,000 consultants were left in the country. He said data also indicate that about 1,300 consultants left Nigeria in the last five years. According to him, the number will continue to dwindle as the retirement age for medical consultants is 60 years.
“About 1,700 consultants are above 55 years of age, this means that in the next five years, they are going to leave the services for retirement,” he said The MDCAN president emphasised that the number of consultants would continue to reduce as long as the country produces only one or two per annum. “You can see that the replacement cannot keep up with the loss from ‘Japa’ syndrome and from retirement.” Mohammad commended the government for its efforts to solve the challenges.
According to him, the association hopes consultants can serve up to 70 years while other healthcare workers will continue to serve up to 65 years. He noted that such a move would ensure that medical and dental consultants who remain in the country continue to give their expertise in the health field. .