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Targets better pay for doctors
The Nasarawa State Government has announced plans to place medical and other health students on its payroll from the clinical level in a move aimed at stemming the migration of trained healthcare professionals from the state.
The announcement was made by the Deputy Governor Dr. Emmanuel Agbadu Akabe, who represented Governor Abdullahi Sule, at the 51st Annual General Meeting and Scientific Conference of the Ophthalmological Society of Nigeria (OSN) in Abuja on Wednesday.
He said the initiative would cover medical students as well as students of nursing and other health-related disciplines, with the government saying the measure was designed to encourage beneficiaries to remain in Nasarawa after completing their training.
According to the governor’s representative, the payments will commence from the following month and cover students who have reached the clinical stages of their various programmes.
“All the medical students and students of health, including nurses and the rest, will be placed on salary from the clinical classes,” he said.
He explained that the policy was informed by the challenge of losing trained medical personnel to Abuja and other parts of the country despite the state’s investment in their education and training.
He said the government intended to bond the students to the state after graduation so that they would work in Nasarawa and contribute to strengthening its healthcare system.
“We train them, they run away. So let’s encourage them and give them something,” he said.
The government also disclosed plans to improve the remuneration of doctors employed by the state by placing them on the same salary structure as their counterparts at the federal level.
The governor, he said, had directed the Deputy Governor and Commissioner for Health to work out the details of the new arrangement.
“At least with that, we can attract a few more of the specialists and cut down on attrition that we’re facing daily in our hospitals,” he said.
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The measures, he added, were part of the administration’s efforts to improve the welfare of health workers, retain skilled manpower and strengthen healthcare delivery across the state.
The governor’s representative further disclosed that the state was preparing to establish a medical school at Nasarawa State University, with the Federal Medical Centre, Keffi, serving as its teaching hospital.
He said the state and relevant federal authorities had already signed a Memorandum of Understanding for the arrangement.
He also disclosed that the former specialist hospital had been taken over by the Federal Government for conversion into a teaching hospital, while the state government was developing a specialist hospital and trauma centre in Akwanga.
According to him, billions of naira had been committed to the project, which the governor directed should be completed before the end of the year.
The Nasarawa State Government also urged medical professional bodies, including the Ophthalmological Society of Nigeria, to continue partnering with government at both federal and sub-national levels to improve healthcare delivery.
The representative commended the OSN for its contributions to eye health and for conducting cataract and other eye surgeries, as well as medical consultations, during its pre-conference activities in Mararaba, Nasarawa State.
He appealed to the society to return to the state to perform surgeries on patients who had been screened but were unable to receive surgical intervention during the outreach.
He assured the society of the Nasarawa State Government’s continued support for its activities and initiatives aimed at improving eye care in the state.
