Health

Nigerian Doctors In UK Lament Exploitation, Slave Labour

Published

3 years ago

October 11, 2022

Nigerian medical doctors and their counterparts from developing countries working in the United Kingdom have lamented exploitation in the course of their work.

This was revealed by BBC on Tuesday adding that an investigation proved that Nigerian doctors recruited by a British healthcare company are expected to work in private hospitals under conditions not allowed in the National Health Service (NHS).

While the British Medical Association (BMA) has described the situation as “shocking”, some of the hospitals denied the allegations as claimed by Nigerians.

BBC spoke to several foreign medical practitioners and one of them was a young Nigerian doctor, Augustine Enekwechi who worked at the private Nuffield Health Leeds Hospital in 2021.

Enekwechi said his working hours were extreme – on 24 hours a day for a week at a time. He claimed he was unable to leave the hospital grounds, adding that the working environment looked like “a prison.”

The doctor further said the challenges could pose health risks to patients in the hospital.

“I knew that working tired puts the patients at risk and puts myself also at risk, as well for litigation,” Enekwechi said. “I felt powerless… helpless, you know, constant stress and thinking something could go wrong.”

Nuffield Health refutes the allegations

Nuffield Health disputed those working hours, saying its doctors are offered regular breaks, time off between shifts, and the ability to swap shifts if needed. The company added that “the health and well-being of patients and hospital team members” is its priority.

Enekwechi was hired out to the Nuffield Health Leeds Hospital by a private company – NES Healthcare. It specialises in employing doctors from overseas, many from Nigeria, and using them as Resident Medical Officers (RMOs) – live-in doctors found mainly in the private sector.

He said he was elated when he first got the job that he hardly looked at the NES contract. He said the company excluded him from legislation that protects UK workers from excessive working hours – the Working Time Directive – and left him vulnerable to a range of punishing salary deductions.

He was, however, not the only person involved. The BMA and the front-line lobbying group the Doctors’ Association has given the BBC’s File on 4 and Newsnight exclusive access to the findings of a questionnaire put to 188 Resident Medical Officers. Most of the doctors were employed by NES but some were with other employers.

It found that 92% had been recruited from Africa and most – 81% – were from Nigeria. The majority complained about excessive working hours and unfair salary deductions.

For years now, the World Health Organization (WHO) has cautioned against the “active recruitment” of doctors and nurses from developing countries with severe shortages of medical personnel.

The WHO has assembled a list of 47 such countries – most of them in Africa. The UK government has incorporated that list into its own code of practice – calling it the “red list”. In effect, it makes Nigeria a no-go destination for British medical recruiters.

So it becomes a disturbing concern how Nigerian doctors are included in the UK. Meanwhile, the report from Nigerian doctors planning to still travel out of the country was troubling.

Nigeria’s doctors planning to travel
According to the report, BBC said in an exam hall in Lagos, it discovered hundreds of doctors queuing to take what was called a Professional and Linguistic Assessments Board test – or PLAB 1.

The paper was set by the General Medical Council (GMC) in London and the first step required by the British medical authorities to secure a licence to work in the UK.

The doctors explained they were attracted by the potential of higher salaries and better working conditions. The event was being overseen by staff from the British Council – an organisation sponsored by the Foreign Office.

GMC roles in other countries
The GMC also offers the exams in several other red-list countries – Ghana, Sudan, Pakistan and Bangladesh.

Both the GMC and British Council deny they are involved in “active recruitment” and say they’re simply helping provide a service for doctors wanting to come to the UK independently – something that is allowed under the guidelines.

In Enekwechi’s case, he was studying for the second part of those PLAB exams in the UK, when he was approached by NES Healthcare and later offered visa sponsorship and a potential job.

While it appeared to have been “active recruitment” – NES said it was not a recruitment agency and, as such, only engaged with doctors from overseas once they have already committed to practising in the UK.

But the Department of Health and Social Care disclosed that the UK code of practice did apply to NES – so the company was in breach of it.

With respect to other African doctors recruited in this way by NES. They all had similar stories about what the terms and conditions of their contracts meant in reality, once they had been hired out to private UK hospitals.

“It’s not humanly possible to do that every day for seven days,” said Dr Femi Johnson.

Dr Femi Johnson was sent to a different hospital like Enekwechi, but said he was also expected to work 14 to 16-hour days and then be on call overnight. “I was burnt out,” he said. “I was tired, I needed sleep. It’s not humanly possible to do that every day for seven days.”

But when he needed a break because he was too exhausted to continue, NES was entitled to deduct money from his salary. The company said that was to cover the cost of finding a replacement doctor, but Johnson said it left NES doctors in a terrible dilemma.

“In situations like that, I always make that internal discussion with my inner self – ‘Femi are you doing right by yourself and are you doing right by the patient?’ Unfortunately, I haven’t always been able to answer that question.”

“This is a slave-type work,” said Vaughan from the Doctors’ Association

Some NES doctors have received help from Vaughan from the Doctors’ Association. She received many complaints from Resident Medical Officers and said the UK healthcare system has developed into two tiers – one for NHS doctors, the other for international recruits working in the private sector.

NHS doctors can only be scheduled to work up to 48 hours, and if they request, up to 72 hours a week.

“No doctor in the NHS does more than four nights consecutively because we know that it’s frankly not safe,” said Dr Vaughan. “This is a slave-type work with… excess hours, the like of which we thought had been gone 30 years ago. It is not acceptable for patients for patient-safety reasons. It is not acceptable for doctors.”

Emma Runswick of the BMA describes the situation as “so exploitative it beggars belief.”

According to Runswick, the whole thing was a “disgrace to UK medicine.”

“Our international colleagues have come a long way to the UK, and have found conditions so exploitative it beggars belief.”

VANGUARD

Health

LASG FLags Off Polio Outbreak Response Campaign

Published

5 months ago

January 20, 2025

Editor

The Lagos State Government, through the Lagos State Primary Health Care Board, has launched the 2025 Polio Outbreak Response Campaign, reaffirming its commitment to eradicating polio and safeguarding the health of its children.

The ceremony, held at the Simpson Primary Healthcare Centre, was led by the First Lady of Lagos State, Dr. (Mrs.) Claudiana Ibijoke Sanwo-Olu, represented by Mrs. Widad Jumoke Mustafa, a member of the Committee of Wives of Lagos State Officials (COWLSO).

In her address, the First Lady emphasised the state government’s proactive measures to keep Lagos polio-free, highlighting the critical importance of the campaign in preventing the debilitating effects of poliomyelitis, which can result in paralysis or death.

The First Lady also called on parents, community leaders, and stakeholders to support the campaign by ensuring eligible children are vaccinated.

Targeting children aged 0-59 months, vaccination teams will administer the Oral Polio Vaccine (OPV) to prevent virus transmission.

Dr. Kemi Ogunyemi, the Special Adviser on Health, expressed gratitude to Lagosians for their continued cooperation in the fight against polio. While appreciating all healthcare workers and partners for their services, Mrs. Ogunyemi encouraged parents to present their children and wards for the exercise.

Also speaking, the Chairman of Lagos Mainland Local Government, Mrs. Omolola Rashidat Essien opined that Immunization is key in ensuring that children are kept safe from polio and other vaccine preventable diseases.

Dr. Abimbola Bowale, the Supervising Permanent Secretary, Lagos State Primary Health Care Board, who also spoke at the event, underscored the life-saving importance of immunization.

“All children aged 0-59 months need multiple doses of the polio vaccine to ensure full protection. Any child missed represents a potential risk for the poliovirus to spread. The vaccine is safe, effective, and crucial in keeping our communities polio-free,” he stated.

Dr. Bowale also outlined several strategies to ensure the success of the campaign, including fixed post teams stationed at primary healthcare centres and public health facilities, house-to-house visits, and a transit strategy to reach special locations such as places of worship, schools, motor parks, and other public venues.

The event concluded with Dr. (Mrs.) Claudiana Ibijoke Sanwo-Olu officially launched the campaign, marking a renewed effort to maintain Lagos State’s polio-free status.

Headline

Lagos Cholera Cases Rise To 421

Published

12 months ago

June 22, 2024

Editor

The Lagos state suspected cholera cases have risen to 421.

The Commissioner for Health, Akin Abayomi disclosed this on his Instagram handle @profakinabayomi on Saturday.

“As of June 20, 2024, an additional four suspected cholera cases have been reported, as illustrated in the accompanying graph,” he wrote.

He noted that the Emergency Operations Centre in collaboration with all relevant partners is actively engaged in contact tracing, community-based surveillance, awareness campaigns, sample testing, and ensuring that confirmed cholera cases receive appropriate medical treatment.

On Friday, the commissioner confirmed 35 cases out of the 417 suspected cases and 24 deaths across 20 Local Government Areas in the state.

The cases were reported from Agege, Badagry, Ikeja, Mushin, Ajeromi-Ifelofun, Epe, Ikorodu, Ojo, Alimosho, and Eti-Osa.

Others were Kosofe, Oshodi-Isolo, Amuwo-Odofin, Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos Island, Shomolu, Apapa, Ifako-Ijaiye, Lagos mainland, and Surulere.

Cholera is a food and water-borne disease caused by ingesting the bacteria— Vibrio cholerae — in contaminated water and food. Cholera can cause severe acute watery diarrhoea, and the severe forms of the disease can kill within hours if left untreated.

In Nigeria, cholera is an endemic and seasonal disease, occurring annually mostly during the rainy season and more frequently in areas with poor sanitation.

The World Health Organisation on Thursday announced a spike in cholera in several regions of the world, with almost 195,000 cases and over 1,900 deaths reported in 24 countries since the start of 2024.

WHO said the Eastern Mediterranean Region reported the highest number of cases, followed by the African Region, the Region of the Americas, the Southeast Asia Region, and the European Region.

The global health body, however, noted that there are no reported cases in the Western Region, according to its bulletin released on Wednesday.

It said it exhausted its global stockpile of Oral Cholera Vaccines by March but was able to exceed “the emergency target of five million doses in early June for the first time in 2024.”

Health

AUTISM: What You Need To Know

Published

1 year ago

April 6, 2024

Editor

By Silver Yeibake

Autism, commonly known as Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), is a neurodevelopmental disorder that affects communication, social interaction, and behavior. Autism is referred to as a spectrum condition since it can manifest in a variety of symptoms and abilities. While the actual cause of autism is unknown, evidence suggests that genetic and environmental factors interact to influence its development.

The risk factors include a sibling with autism, advanced age of parents, exposure to certain air pollutants and pesticides before birth, extreme prematurity, mothers with diabetes, immune system disorders or obesity, any difficulty with delivery leading to deprivation of oxygen to the baby’s brain, fever during pregnancy, lack of certain vitamins minerals during pregnancy, and certain genetic conditions, such as Down, fragile X, and Rett syndromes.

“Risk factors can not on their own cause a disease. However, they can increase the likelihood of that disease in a person.”

It is important to know that contrary to trending claims online, there is no scientific or medical evidence that vaccines or consumption of sugar are risk factors for autism.

Autism is defined by difficulties in social interaction and communication. Individuals with autism may struggle to grasp social cues, maintain eye contact, and engage in typical back-and-forth conversations. Some people may also engage in meaningless, repetitive actions, such as hand-flapping or rocking, and have strong interests in specific areas.

It is essential to remember that autism is a lifelong diagnosis, but with early intervention and adequate care, people with autism can live fulfilling lives.
Autism treatment frequently includes behavioral therapy, speech therapy, occupational therapy, and social skills training. Each individual with autism is unique, thus interventions should be tailored to meet their personal needs and strengths.

In spite of the difficulties that autism can cause, many people with autism possess unique talents and abilities. Some people may succeed in fields such as music, art, mathematics, or programming, thus it is important for society to acknowledge and honor the qualities and achievements of people with autism.

In summary, autism is a complicated and diverse disorder that affects individuals in various ways. By raising autism knowledge, understanding, and acceptance, we can build a more inclusive society in which people with autism can thrive and attain their full potential.

Dr. Yeibake, Weriwoyingipre Silver.
Senior Registrar,
Faculty Of Pediatrics,
WACP