A retired surgeon in Akwa Ibom State, Dr Albert Ekop has said both doctors and governments have roles to play to end the migration of medical doctors overseas.
Fielding questions from journalists in Uyo on Tuesday after the launch of his book entitled, “The Tailor” the 88-year-old doctor said young doctors should go back to the curriculum that healthcare is a social service, not an economic service while the government on its part should understand that doctors deserve adequate remuneration to encourage them since everyone goes to the same market.
“I think the first step will be the curriculum of training of medical students, we should go back to what we used to learn that health care is a social service, not an economic service. If we say this to the minds of these young people, the rat race for greener pastures will be reduced.
“Government too should be told that people who sacrifice for the health of individuals’ souls should be compensated, not when they complain you just dismiss them with the wave of the hand. They are human beings, they buy from the same market as you are buying. Government should take a second look at the remuneration of medical doctors”
He added that the rat race for greener pastures among young Nigerian doctors would be reduced if these are put in place.
Speaking on his book, “The Tailor” the Octogenarian narrated that his father had wanted him to be a tailor noting that both tailors and medical surgeons are symbolic as the two professions repair broken parts.
