Professor Aminu Mohammad, President of the Medical and Dental Consultants Association of Nigeria, has sounded the alarm on the severe shortage of pediatric surgeons in Nigeria’s northern region.
He revealed that only three pediatric surgeons serve Kano and five other northern states, resulting in a critical lack of specialized healthcare services for children.
The Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital, which caters to patients from five to six states, has a staggering waiting list of over a year for elective surgeries due to limited resources – just three surgeons and two operating tables per week.
The surgeon noted, “Last Monday alone, we saw 106 patients, two-thirds of them were waiting for surgery.
“As a children’s surgeon working in the northwest in Kano, almost the neighbouring states except Kaduna, do not have paediatric surgeons.
“If you look at the population of children, which is about, let’s say in Nigeria, almost close to 50 per cent are children below the age of 16. Children surgeons in Nigeria are not up to 150 now. And this is what will serve this total population for children’s surgical needs.
“This is one of the reasons why it will take you a longer time to cover. And then, the patients keep coming every week and you are adding anyone that comes on the next available operation list booking. So, that is what builds on to lead to this waiting period.”
Professor Aminu Mohammad, a Paediatric Surgery expert at Bayero University, emphasized that surgeons are in short supply and that various factors impact surgical scheduling.
He categorized patients into two groups: those requiring urgent, emergency surgeries and those needing planned, elective procedures.
“Emergency cases always take priority due to their critical nature. Elective surgeries, which can be scheduled for another time, often face significant delays due to limited resources,” he explained.
Professor Muhammad expressed concern that Nigeria’s healthcare system is overwhelmed by a high volume of patients, but lacks sufficient specialized surgeons and operating theaters, exacerbating the issue of lengthy waiting lists for surgical procedures.
He stated, “Surgery is divided into various sub-specialties. For instance, there are general surgeons, plastic surgeons, neurosurgeons, and pediatric surgeons, among others. Each specialty has its own set of challenges and patient demands.
“Limited surgical slots and shared operating rooms significantly contribute to the backlog. Additionally, the shortage of anesthesiologists and other critical support staff worsens the problem.
“The brain drain has resulted in fewer specialists available to handle the increasing number of patients. This has a direct impact on the availability and timeliness of surgical care.”
The paediatric surgeon also revealed that he is now doing surgery he was not meant to do because of the shortage.
“People have left, those that are trained to do those surgeries specifically are not available. But as a pediatric surgeon, you are trained to do a lot from different specialties like skin grafting. So, in our situation, you may have to be doing the other cases because you can’t also say they should go, even if you say, go somewhere, where are you going to send them to?
“This further compounds the situation, we used to have three plastic surgeons. Now it’s the only one that is available. Definitely whatever the three can do has been transferred to that single one. And then there is no way you can do as much as when there were three. Therefore, it also prolonged the working period.”
Professor Muhammad urged the government to take immediate action to address the shortage of pediatric surgeons by training and hiring more specialists.
He also stressed the need for upgraded healthcare infrastructure and equipment to support the existing surgeons.
Additionally, he recommended increasing the number of operating theaters and improving infrastructure to reduce the backlog of cases.
Furthermore, he advocated for better support and incentives for surgeons to help retain and attract more talent in the field.
He added, “Improving the working conditions and remuneration for medical professionals could help retain talent and ensure that more surgeries are performed.”
He stressed that increased infrastructure, improved working conditions, and innovative scheduling solutions could provide much-needed relief for Nigeria’s overwhelmed surgical system.
“Introducing more services during off-peak hours, such as weekends or nights, could help reduce waiting times.
“Patients who can afford to pay a little more could receive expedited care, which would, in turn, reduce the burden on the standard waiting list,” he suggested.
