Posted by Cross River State Governor Bassey Otu has announced that his administration will bring back to work a large number of doctors who have retired but are physically capable of doing so.
Otu has also ordered a three-year extension to the careers of retiring nurses.
This is because many state hospital medical professionals are planning to retire by the end of the year, leading to a critical shortage of these professionals.
This was announced in Calabar by the state’s health commissioner, Dr. Henry Egbe.
The Governor has opted to keep the retiring nurses on staff for another three years because so many others in the healthcare industry will be retiring that year (2023).
In a similar vein, “the state government is also looking at recalling some of the retired doctors who are still strong to work in the state’s health sector on contract basis,” he said.
With the governor’s consent, Ayuk said the state administration would meet with the Nigeria Labour Congress and civil society organizations to figure out incentives for doctors to work in rural areas.
Dr. Felix Archibong, chairman of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) in the state, applauded the Governor’s action and advocated for the hiring of more medical professionals and improved working conditions in an effort to keep them from fleeing the country.