Clinical bodies in the nations have said the Assembled Realm government’s code of training for the global enrollment of wellbeing and social consideration faculty won’t prevent Nigerian specialists from moving to different nations.
Because freedom of movement is a fundamental right, they claim, the UK can only define its terms.
The Nigerian Medical Association and the Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors were responding to the UK code of practice, which included Nigeria among 54 other nations in which health care workers should not be actively recruited.
The United Kingdom explained that the World Health Organization identified 54 nations with the most pressing workforce-related health and care issues.
“Countries on the list should not be actively targeted for recruitment by health and social care employers, recruitment organizations, agencies, collaborations, or contracting bodies unless there is a government-to-government agreement to allow managed recruitment undertaken strictly in compliance with the terms of that agreement,” reads one section of the UK code.
The WHO Health Workforce Support and Safeguards List countries receive a red grade in the code. The country is added to the amber list if a government-to-government agreement restricts recruiting organizations to the terms of the agreement between partners.
In response to the restriction, Dr. Uche Ojinmah, president of the NMA, stated in an interview with The PUNCH that Nigerian doctors migrate to other nations due to the government’s poor treatment of them.
“The poor treatment that Nigerian doctors are receiving is what is driving them away, so I don’t actually begrudge the UK for recruiting them. Evidently, Nigerians will not migrate if the Nigerian people and government place a premium on them.
“It is acceptable that the United Kingdom places us at the bottom of the recruitment ladder; however, what about the United States of America, Canada, Grenada, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar, Kuwait, South Africa, Germany, and so on?
“It’s not possible for anyone to drastically restrict the opportunity of development; It is an essential right. Ojinmah stated, “They can only define the terms.”
Additionally, Dr. Emeka Orji, President of the Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors, stated that physicians can practice in other nations.
Orji stated, “The truth is that Nigerian health workers go to more places than just the UK, and even with this list, it only means that they will not be headhunting our health workers.” Therefore, individuals can still apply for employment in the UK.
The NMA president also said that the restriction might have something to do with the Federal Government’s effort to stop the country’s brain drain.
“I am aware that the MDCN Registrar attended the GMC the previous year, and the report we received at that time stated that they discussed ways to lessen the impact of Nigeria’s brain drain.
Although this is purely speculative, we believe it was a component of the discussion. Ojinmah continued, “We can’t confirm that, but it’s possible.”
In October 2022, the General Medical Council Office in Manchester, UK, was visited by some Nigerian officials from the Medical and Dental Council.
The authorities of the MDCN on the visit were its Executive, Prof Abba Waziri; Dr. Tajudeen Sanusi, the Registrar, and Dr. Henry Okwukenye, the Head of the Department for Registration,
The Overall Clinical Gathering is a public body that keeps up with the authority register of clinical professionals inside the Unified Realm.
“We had a lot of useful discussions, among which is the possibility of the UK government to repatriate some funds in line with global health initiatives from Nigerian doctors who were trained with tax payers’ funds,” reads a portion of the tweet on the MDCN Twitter handle @MDCNOfficial regarding the GMC’s visit.
“There was also discussion about stopping the brain drain.”
The UK’s restriction comes as a bill in the House of Representatives aims to require doctors to serve for five years before they can receive a full practice license.
“It’s possible the Nigerian government pushed for this (the restriction), but we have not seen any official release to that effect,” the President of the NARD added.
He urged the Federal Government to fund the health sector and improve the working conditions of health professionals in order to discourage migration.
He elaborated, “We have always known this and we have been talking about it. The government is now complaining that there is a brain drain. Now, it is expected that the government will increase the capacity for production so that, even if other countries come after your doctors, nurses, and other health workers, you will use it to your advantage by improving your training, infrastructure, personnel, and health funding so that you won’t have to tell other countries to stop taking over your medical workforce. As long as you have sufficient funds, you should encourage it. India acted in that manner.
According to data gathered from the GMC, there are currently 11,055 Nigerian-trained doctors in the UK, as reported by The PUNCH.
After India and Pakistan, Nigeria has the third highest number of foreign doctors working in the UK.
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