By Abasi Ita
The Cross River chapter of the Nigerian Medical Association, NMA, has urged Governor Prince Bassey Otu to establish a College of Medicine and Surgery at the University of Cross River State, UNICROSS, as part of measures to tackle the shortage of medical doctors in state owned health facilities.
The association said the proposed medical college would expand opportunities for qualified Cross River youths seeking admission to study medicine and other health related courses while providing a sustainable solution to the manpower deficit in the state’s healthcare system.
Chairman of the association, Dr Epoke Epoke, made the appeal during an interaction with members of the Cross River State Working Committee of the All Progressives Congress, APC, led by the State Chairman, Rt Hon Sunny Etta, at the NMA Secretariat in Calabar.
Epoke said many qualified candidates are denied admission into federal universities each year because of limited admission spaces, the quota system and the federal character principle, leaving the state with too few indigenous medical professionals.
“The Japa syndrome rattling the health sector in our country is a disturbing phenomenon. But Cross River is peculiar because of the low number of indigenes who gain admission to study medicine and related disciplines in federal universities across the country, especially at the University of Calabar, due to several factors.
“We want the state government, as a deliberate policy, to establish a standard College of Medicine and Surgery at the University of Cross River State. It is achievable. We already have the University of Calabar and the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital here to provide the necessary technical and manpower support,” he said.
The NMA chairman also advocated the establishment of specialist hospitals across the state’s senatorial districts, beginning with Ogoja, to improve access to quality healthcare in the Central and Northern parts of Cross River.
According to him, the concentration of specialist medical facilities in Calabar has continued to endanger patients from other parts of the state who require urgent medical attention.
“The topography of the state demands specialist hospitals in every senatorial district. In the South, we already have the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital, the Naval Reference Hospital and several privately owned specialist medical facilities. You cannot find such facilities in Ikom and Ogoja, thereby exposing patients in critical conditions, such as stroke, to the risk of death before reaching Calabar because of the long travel time.
“The governor has given utmost priority to repositioning the health sector. We earnestly appeal for the establishment of specialist hospitals in the other two senatorial districts, beginning with Ogoja,” he added.
Epoke commended Governor Otu for reforms aimed at improving healthcare delivery, particularly the approval of an enhanced salary structure to retain doctors and stem the migration of medical personnel to federal institutions and other states.
He also appealed to the governor to strengthen collaboration between consultants at the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital and doctors in state owned general hospitals, while approving residency training programmes for doctors employed by the state government.
Earlier, APC State Chairman, Rt Hon Sunny Etta, said the visit was part of the party’s engagement with critical stakeholders to showcase the achievements of the Otu administration, obtain feedback and gather ideas that would strengthen governance.
He said the consultations were also designed to counter misconceptions, misinformation and deliberate falsehoods about the performance of the present administration.
“These critical stakeholders are important and should not be consulted only during election campaigns. Their views are essential for people oriented policy formulation and implementation,” Etta said.