Brain drain: Oncologist urges FG to train more medical personnel

An Oncologist, Dr Temitope Olatunji-Agunbiade, has appealed to the Federal Government to train more oncologists to improve cancer management in the country.

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Olatunji-Agunbiade, consultant radiation and clinical oncologist at the Lagos State Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), said this in an interview with Newsmen on Friday in Ota, Ogun.

The oncologist noted that the appeal had become necessary as the number of cancer patients continued to rise across the country.

According to her, many of the oncologists had travelled out of the country in search of greener pastures due to poor remuneration and dilapidating state of the country’s health infrastructure.

“There is the urgent need to improve remuneration of doctors to boost their morale financially, morally and socially,” she said.

The oncologist noted that the country had lost a lot of trained medical personnel to brain drain, adding that this development had created a huge gap in the health sector.

Olatunji-Agunbiade urged the Federal Government to stem brain drain in the health sector, as the country had less than 100 oncologists to attend to its populace.

The oncologist emphasised the need for government to provide functional machineries and not just structures in order to enhance healthcare.

NAN/Wumi