The Association of Chief Medical Directors (CMD), have pleaded with the House of Representatives Committee on Health Institutions to help facilitate the procurement of modern medical equipment to stop brain drain in the country’s tertiary health institutions.
Chairman of the Association, Jeff Momoh who made the appeal on Tuesday during budget defence with the House Committee on Health Institutions on Tuesday in Abuja said the request if granted would also stop medical tourism in the country.
He said, acquiring state of the art medical equipment was germane to retaining man power and stressed the need to curtail medical tourism to help in the growth of the country’s health sector.
Momoh said the money released in the 2020 appropriation could not purchase some of the modern medical equipment, adding that it could leverage on a Private Partnership Projects to help.
He said that 2020 had been a challenging year in the battle against COVID-19, while paying tribute to all health workers for outstanding performance in the face of COVID-19 pandemic across the country.
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The Chairman expressed delight over the increase on Outsource Service from N3 billion to N5 billion in the 2021 budget proposal, hoping that the Committee would further jerk it up.
“An average hospital should have 700 bed space but we have those with 400, our personnel have moved out of the country to a greener pasture, so we need a replacement via recruitment.
“This lacuna is not good for us, we cannot afford not to engage others and there is need to bridge gap in man power,” he said.
He said that an average hospital spent N30-N40 million on electricity, adding that its internal generated revenue could not support such outrageous bill, while calling on the committee to intervene.
Rep Pascal Obi, the House Committee Chairman on Health Institutions said that the committee was aware of the challenges occasioned by COVID-19 pandemic and how it had affected the country’s economy.
