The Medical and Dental Consultants Association of Nigeria, MDCAN, University College Hospital, UCH, Ibadan Chapter, has called on the Federal Government to urgently improve manpower and infrastructure in the country’s teaching hospitals.
The association said the growing pressure on tertiary health institutions required urgent intervention, including the provision of adequate equipment, recruitment of more personnel and improved administrative support.
Chairman of the MDCAN UCH Chapter, Dr Oluseyi Akande, made the call on Monday in Ibadan during the association’s biennial press briefing held as part of its 2026 Annual General Meeting.
Akande specifically urged the Federal Government to constitute boards of management for federal tertiary hospitals, release funds approved for medical equipment and address delays in salary payments affecting newly employed and transferred medical consultants.
He said the absence of governing boards in UCH and several other federal tertiary hospitals for over two years had slowed administrative processes and affected effective decision-making.
According to him, while Chief Medical Directors handle the daily operations of the hospitals, the boards are responsible for major policy and administrative decisions.
“While the Chief Medical Director, as Chief Executive Officer, oversees day-to-day operations, the Hospital’s Board of Management is to equip, maintain, and operate the hospital,” Akande said.
He urged the government to urgently reconstitute the boards, noting that their absence had resulted in some decisions being referred to the Minister of Health, thereby causing delays.
The association also expressed concern over increased admission quotas in medical schools without corresponding improvements in infrastructure and staffing.
Akande said the policy was intended to address Nigeria’s shortage of medical professionals but warned that admitting more students without adequate facilities and lecturers could further overstretch the system.
He noted that some infrastructure being provided for the increased student population at the University of Ibadan’s College of Medicine was yet to be completed.
“At the College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, these structures are not ready, even though the number of students admitted increased since last year,” he said.
He therefore called for faster completion of the projects and stronger monitoring of government interventions.
The MDCAN chairman also demanded the recruitment of more medical lecturers, saying consultants were already carrying multiple responsibilities as teachers, trainers and clinicians.
He attributed part of the pressure to the migration of health professionals abroad and weaknesses in primary and secondary healthcare delivery.
“Our members are already overworked in the hospital because of Japa syndrome and almost non-existent primary and secondary health care facilities in most states of the Federation,” he said.
Akande further called for incentives and additional remuneration for medical lecturers handling increased workloads.
“Medicine is an apprenticeship, as we say; training of extra medical students is demanding and should be adequately compensated,” he said.
On salaries, MDCAN expressed concern over delays affecting newly recruited consultants and doctors transferred from other institutions to UCH through the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System, IPPIS.
Akande said some affected doctors had gone for months without receiving their salaries because of bureaucratic procedures involving government agencies.
He called for decentralisation of the payroll system to ensure that workers receive their salaries promptly after assuming duty.
“Salary is a right and not a privilege,” he stressed.
The association also appealed to the Federal Government to release funds approved in the 2025 budget for the procurement of life-saving equipment at UCH.
Akande said the delay in releasing the funds was affecting the hospital’s ability to effectively provide clinical services, train medical personnel and conduct research.
Meanwhile, MDCAN appealed to patients and relatives to avoid attacking healthcare workers over dissatisfaction with medical services.
Akande said poor equipment, unreliable electricity and other systemic challenges could affect patient outcomes despite the efforts of medical personnel.
He urged aggrieved patients to seek redress through appropriate channels rather than resorting to violence.
“Such acts are illegal and are punishable under the law,” he warned.
He added that continued attacks on healthcare workers could further demoralise medical professionals and worsen the country’s existing shortage of skilled health personnel.
Akande commended recent efforts by the Federal Ministry of Health to address violence against healthcare workers and congratulated members of the association on its 2026 Annual General Meeting.
