Health
CMD advocates Special Bank To Bridge Health Sector Financing Gaps
The Medical Director, Rock Foundation Hospital, Awka, Dr Chukwudi Njelita, has called on the Federal Government to establish a special bank to provide special funding for the start-ups in the health sector.
Njelita told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Awka on Wednesday that this would help break the huge barrier in establishing private clinics and rendering high tech medical services in Nigeria.
He said though healthcare services had improved over time in Nigeria it had not reached the minimum expected threshold because of the limited access to doctors at the community level.
The expert said that there were numerous challenges facing private practice in the health sector, including high cost of specialised medical services.
He said the cost of setting up a private clinic had become prohibitive unlike in the past when doctors could attempt it with their savings.
He said that it was unfortunate that a year’s salary of a doctor in present times could not pay the rent for space needed for such a facility.
“It is difficult for doctors to start-up private practice because of huge financial demands, the funds required to set up a private hospital is not as cheap as it used to be in the past.
“I call on government to create Bank of Health like they have for agriculture and industry, so that through it, they can support funds for this type of critical health infrastructure with discounted loans.
“For instance, a urologist who goes abroad for hands-on training in Transurethral Resection of the prostate needs to come back and work on the machine which costs about N40 million.
“To do a Laser kidney stone operation where you do not have to do open surgery you need a machine of about N200 million, not many doctors can afford that.’’
He said that laser kidney stone machine cost about N200 million, where you do not have to do open surgery, not many doctors could afford that.
“For there to be quality private hospitals, the government can partner with willing doctors who have expertise by giving them concessionary loans which they can recoup over time.
“The tax system is also not friendly; the government does not give a waiting period after setup before coming to demand all manner of taxes.
“However, waivers and tax holidays are financial incentives that can support investment in the health sector,” he said.
Njelita said the government should take measures to check the brain drain in the sector by retaining Nigerian trained doctors through closing the salary gap and giving tax incentives.
He recommended that the government should close the pay disparity by paying home-based doctors at least 70 per cent of what they would likely earn abroad.
He said this would reduce emigration of doctors by up to 50 per cent.
“If a doctor in the diaspora takes home a salary equivalent of N3 million after taxes monthly and a doctor takes home N800, 000 in Nigeria, it will be difficult to convince doctors to stay back because the service is poorly valued.
“If federal and state governments pay between 70 per cent and 100 per cent of what doctors are paid outside Nigeria, it will close the migration gap by up to 50 per cent.
“Nobody goes outside Nigeria and comes back to practice if the condition does not change, they will remain there to serve that community and make their money.
“To close the gap in the healthcare sector, we must produce more doctors and encourage the trained doctors to stay back through gainful employment and easy start-up,” he said. (NAN)
Edited by Fatima Sule Abdullahi