Don suggests way to end medical tourism, brain drain

A neurosurgeon at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Prof. Enoch Ogbonnaya Uche, has said that Medical tourism and brain drain can stop in Nigeria if government begins to equip the hospitals with the necessary Medical equipment to enhance the performance of medical doctors and other healthcare workers.

He also suggested that a sustainable welfare scheme for medical personnel should be in place to quench the appetite of Nigerian medical personnel in traveling overseas for greener pasture.

He made this submission while presenting the 198 inaugural lecture of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka at the Enugu-campus of the University yesterday titled – brain surgery in the global age, navigating the barriers of care to habituate survival in the final frontiers, footmarks of a neurosurgeon.

The erudite scholar noted that the competence of Nigerian doctors globally was not in doubt, pointing out that their challenge was lack of equipment to perform their duty and almost zero motivation.

Prof. Enoch Uche however, commended the management of the University of Nigeria Teaching hospital, UNTH Enugu for putting in place the State-of-the-art equipment in the neurosurgery theatre, which had made surgery at the hospital a routine.

He revealed that recently a patient who had concluded arrangement to travel abroad for a neurosurgery case had to cancel his plans and come to the UNTH on hearing the wonders being performed by neurosurgeons there.

The Abia State born surgeon advised Nigerians who have had headache for about a month to seek medical attention because prolonged headache is one of the symptoms of brain tumor. Prof. Uche re-emphasized the need for the spread of the national health insurance scheme to enable more Nigerians have access to healthcare.

He praised the role of such great neurosurgeons like Prof. E. Latunde Odeku who pioneered the foundation of neurosurgery in Nigeria and Africa at the University College hospital Ibadan in 1962. He was closely joined by Prof. Adelola Adeloye in 1967 and in 1968 a second neurosurgery unit was established at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital by Dr. Da Silva and Dr. Nosiru Ojikutu as well as that of the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital, UNTH, Enugu, established in 1974 by Prof. Sam Ohaegbulam.