Brain drain: Another set of 150 Nigerian Doctors ready for exams to enable them migrate to the Uk —- Punch

Aug 5, 2021 | News

According to The PUNCH, more than 150 Nigerian doctors interested in practising in the United Kingdom are currently awaiting the results of their clinical examination, which will determine their eligibility to practise in the UK.

It was also discovered that the coronavirus epidemic had caused the General Medical Council’s annual examination to be postponed.

The council is in charge of issuing medical doctor licences in the United Kingdom.

According to the PUNCH, there were 8,384 Nigerian medical physicians practising in the UK as of June 9, 2021.

In an e-mail  correspondents, the council’s Senior Media Officer, Miranda Newey, stated that if not for the pandemic, the number of Nigerian doctors in the UK would have increased.

According to Newey, “due to the pandemic, there have been significant delays for Nigerian doctors taking our clinical examination before gaining registration.” From the information I have here, we have 150 doctors who have been delayed. I hope to get more data to share with you to enable you to do the comparison you want.”

Meanwhile, Uyilawa Okhuaihesuyi, the National President of the National Association of Resident Doctors, has urged the Federal Government to address the country’s brain drain as soon as possible.

In an interview with The PUNCH, Okhuaihesuyi made the call.

He said, “It is normal for us to experience brain drain and I don’t blame the doctors migrating. Look at those of us who have chosen to stay behind. The only way the Federal Government can address this is if it attends to the demands of doctors.

“Look at resident doctors; most of our members are still being owed. If our welfare is of paramount interest, there won’t be a need to migrate.”

According to research conducted by The PUNCH, the average number of Nigerian-trained doctors in the UK increased from 1.3 per day in July and December 2020 to 3.3 per day in April and May 2021.

Around seven Nigerian-trained doctors were licenced by the UK between June 7 and June 8, 2020 – a 24-hour period.

After India and Pakistan, Nigeria has the third biggest number of foreign doctors working in the UK.

This is due to a physician scarcity in Nigeria.

The Nigerian Medical and Dental Council estimates that there are 74,543 registered doctors in the country, which has a population of almost 200 million people.

The doctor-to-patient ratio in the country is now 1:3,500.

This is significantly less than the World Health Organization’s recommended ratio of 1:600.

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