Sodiq Ojuroungbe
The President of the Nigerian Society of Haematology and Blood Transfusion, Prof. Omolade Awodu has said that less than 200 haematologists are serving over 200 million Nigerans.
According to Awodu, this alarming shortage of haematologists (specialists who deal with blood disorders), has severe implications for patients suffering from conditions such as sickle cell disease, leukemia, and other blood-related ailments.
Speaking exclusively with PUNCH Healthwise, the NSHBT president, maintained that the 200 haematologists were grossly inadequate for a country with a huge population like Nigeria with high disease burden.
The don noted that even the few haematologists in the country face significant challenges, including a lack of resources, equipment, and personnel, which makes it difficult for them to provide quality care to patients.
Awodu, who is also a professor of Haematology at the School of Basic Clinical Sciences, University of Benin, Edo State, also lamented that haematologists in Nigeria face an enormous workload and emotional stress, which could be overwhelming at times.
The Consultant Haematologist at the University of Benin Teaching Hospital attributed the country’s shortage of specialists to a combination of factors, including a lack of interest among medical students and young doctors in the specialty.
She added that brain drain had also contributed significantly to the shortage, with many haematologists leaving the country in search of better opportunities abroad.
While noting that many medical students view haematology as a complex and dry subject and prefer to specialise in other areas of medicine, Awodu stressed that the shortage of haematologists in Nigeria was a critical issue that required urgent attention.
She added, “The shortage is not peculiar to haematologists, it is common across all medical specialties in Nigeria. It’s just that haematology wasn’t really a very popular field even before the advent of brain drain. So, the brain drain had worsened this thing. Basically, the background is the same background with almost all medical specialties in Nigeria.
“There is no doubt we haematologists are extremely short. As at the last count, we were about 300 registered haematologists in Nigeria, but that was the last count. Right now, I am not sure we have up to 100 persons left in Nigeria.
“So, the other persons are resident doctors who are still undergoing training. And if you now look at that, you can imagine the population of over 200 million. Let’s say we are even 1,000 haematologists which we are very far from. Of course, the number is exceedingly poor. We have less than 500, I think the last time we counted was about 300.
“If you have to look, the other thing with haematologists is that most of them are working at the teaching hospitals in the country. So, if you have to start looking at the teaching hospital and you count, maybe some will have just like three, it’s only the big hospitals that you see like seven haematologists and then the others you have like one or two. By the time you put them together probably about 100 or a little bit above that.
“When we are talking about maybe one haematologist to about 50,000 persons then you are now talking about one haematologist to over 200,000 persons you know. So, that’s grossly short. Again that is not so peculiar to haematology.”
Speaking on other factors contributing, the NSHBT president lamented that haematologists in Nigeria are confronting not only a severe shortage but also a lack of job satisfaction due to limited resources and inadequate facilities.
She noted that despite their expertise, many haematologists struggle to provide optimal care for their patients because essential resources and treatments are often unavailable.
She explained that the dissatisfaction among haematologists arose from the frustration of knowing that they could not fully implement the medical knowledge due to systemic limitations.
“The other thing is that we can also say the practice of haematology in Nigeria is not so rewarding. When I say rewarding now, the reward is not in time of financial benefit, but in time of job satisfaction or how much you can do for your patients. We do not have the satisfaction of saying that, oh, you have done all that needed to be done for your patient. You may do it, and you may have all the knowledge, but the things to help this patient are not just available.
“At our recent conference, part of the things we discussed was bone marrow transplantation. Bone marrow transplantation is a part of haematology and it is therapeutic, we use it as treatment and curative for starting haematological conditions and right now in Nigeria, there is only one private place that is doing bone marrow transplantation.
“You see patients that require these things for them to be able to achieve a cure of their illness, but it’s not available. And very few of them can afford to go abroad to do all those things. That was a part of the challenges we have,” she added.
The don also revealed that the emotional strain of working as a haematologist in the country is driving some doctors away from the specialty.
She explained that many specialists found it challenging to cope with the emotional burden of treating cancer patients who were unable to afford necessary medications or blood products.
She said the lack of essential resources not only impedes their ability to provide adequate care but also results in poor patient outcomes, contributing to job dissatisfaction and burnout among medical professionals.
She further said, “We have seen certain doctors coming into the specialty but they can’t withstand the emotional aspects of it especially some of our cancer patients; some could not be able to afford their drugs when they are supposed to get the drugs and those that can afford they need blood products support. The blood products are not available. And then we lose some of these patients.
“And some doctors just can’t take it in that you have people you can help, but because what they need is not available, the patient just dies.
“So, if they cannot cope with that emotion, they leave. We have had residents like that, they came into the department, and after about six months, they just come and tell you, and said, Madam, I am sorry, I think I am going to another specialty. What is the problem? I don’t think I like the patient outcome here.
“It is better these days but we know it can be much much better than it is now. Those are the things too that make people leave or not come into the specialty.”
Speaking on the opportunities in the specialty, the professor said, “So for me, I am happy I am in haematology because it is a very unique branch of medicine in the sense that we see our patients, we are able to analyse the blood by ourselves, and we are able to come into a concrete diagnosis.
“We are less dependent on other specialties, Unlike other specialties, the majority depend on us, but we are less dependent on others.
“For instance, I see a patient with a blood disorder. I have taken my history. I can take the blood sample, make what we call a blood film, look at the film under the microscope, and have an idea of what is going on. If I am not satisfied, go into the bone marrow of the person, and look at the marrow again. So, we can complete our diagnosis right from the history to the final step we need to take.
“That’s one advantage of haematology; we do not waste time making a diagnosis. I do not have to say, oh, this patient has, I am suspecting he has leukemia. I am waiting for somebody to come and do the marrow for me. So, you discover that within a short time, evening, if possible, or later by the following day we have scheduled the person for marrow and within 24 hours to 48 hours maximum we are able to have a direction of where we are going without having to wait for maybe somebody helping us do xray to know or a CT scan and all that. That is one very good advantage of haematology.”
On the way forward, the don called on the government to intervene by providing incentives, improving working conditions, and increasing funding for haematology training programmes.
While emphasing that the situation requires a multi-faceted approach, Awodu said there is a need for haematology training programmes to be made more attractive to medical students and young doctors.
“By enhancing the availability of resources and investing in training and professional development, we can improve both patient outcomes and job satisfaction for haematologists. This will ultimately help retain specialists and reduce the need for medical tourism, benefiting both patients and the healthcare system as a whole.”
Copyright PUNCH
All rights reserved. This material, and other digital content on this website, may not be reproduced, published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed in whole or in part without prior express written permission from PUNCH.
Contact: healthwise@punchng.com
The post Less than 200 haematologists serving over 200 million Nigerians, says NSHBT president appeared first on Healthwise.