Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Olisa Agbakoba, has highlighted the urgent need for Nigeria to adopt a medical oversight system similar to the United Kingdom’s, where investigations into malpractice are concluded within 90 days.
Speaking during an interview with ARISE NEWS on Wednesday regarding the gaps in the country’s healthcare regulation, Agbakoba noted that the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN) is slow, opaque, and underfunded.
He said, “The regulatory supervision for erring doctors is controlled by the Medical Dental Council of Nigeria. But that council is opaque. It’s only consisted of doctors. They are underfunded. So the results are very poor. It takes forever to get the results. So nobody gets punished.
“I would recommend the UK practice, where you have a general medical council, where they must conclude investigations and issue a report within 90 days. I’ve seen cases where it takes five years to issue a verdict on an erring doctor. So the whole place is just open. There’s no regulation.”
He also recommended the appointment of a dedicated Chief Medical Officer at both federal and state levels to enforce discipline, oversee patient safety, and ensure that sanctions against erring practitioners are carried out.
He noted, “The only way to resolve this problem is to have a very strong regulatory framework, driven by a doctor, and that doctor is usually called the Chief Medical Officer. At the federal level, he’ll be inserted into the system. The minister will deal with policy and politics.
“Lagos state ought to have a Chief Medical Officer, not five or six. That’s why I’m saying that the Medical Dental Council of Nigeria is in need of massive reform. The way it is structured is opaque. It’s only comprised of doctors.
“In the UK, the GMC is set up of doctors, laypeople, legal practitioners, and the sanctions are imposed and implemented. Here, I don’t know how many doctors really get off, lose their licenses when there is a decision. So, why I’m calling for reform is to say also that if a doctor is reprimanded and sanctioned, that penalty must be carried out. That’s not happening now.”
Funding was also cited as a critical challenge. Nigeria allocates just 4% of its national budget to healthcare, far below the 15% benchmark recommended by the Abuja Declaration and the African Union.
“There’s the Abuja Declaration, there’s the African Union requirement, there’s the World Health Authority requirement that 15% of the national budget should be devoted to the healthcare sector. Right now, we’re doing about 4%. So, that’s all part of the problem. You’ve got to put money.
“If you want this country to be healed and well, you’ve got to fund the place. If you don’t fund it, we’ll have sick people and we’ll have quacks.”
Melissa Enoch
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