By Erewunmi Peace

Nigeria’s healthcare system is facing severe pressure as bureaucratic bottlenecks and mass emigration of medical professionals continue to cripple service delivery across hospitals and clinics nationwide.

A recent report highlights how delays in recruitment, underfunding, and administrative hurdles are stretching the remaining workforce beyond capacity, while thousands of doctors, nurses, and specialists leave the country in search of better opportunities.

According to data cited in the report, over 9,000 Nigerian doctors have left the country in the last five years, leaving many teaching hospitals and federal medical centres struggling to fill critical roles. Some departments are now run almost entirely by junior residents who attend to dozens of patients daily without adequate senior support.

Healthcare workers say the situation has worsened due to layers of bureaucracy affecting everything from promotions and staffing approvals to access to essential supplies. These challenges, combined with poor remuneration and security concerns in some regions, are driving more professionals to relocate abroad.

The dwindling workforce has resulted in longer waiting times, reduced service quality, and in some cases, temporary closure of hospital units due to insufficient staff. Experts warn that unless urgent reforms are implemented, Nigeria risks facing a full-scale collapse of key parts of its healthcare system.

They are calling for fast-tracked recruitment, improved working conditions, better funding, and swift removal of bureaucratic barriers that hinder hospital operations.

As the crisis deepens, stakeholders fear that more workers will continue to exit the system unless government action is taken immediately.