The Medical and Dental Consultants Association of Nigeria (MDCAN) has called on governments at all levels to desist from appointing non-doctors into the consultants’ cadre in hospitals, warning that the trend could create chaos in the health system and endanger patients.

The position was contained in a communiqué issued at the end of MDCAN’s Biennial Delegates’ Meeting and Scientific Conference held in Enugu on Thursday. The document was signed by the newly elected President of the Association, Prof. Apollos Ndukuba, and the Secretary General, Dr. Augustustine N. Duru.

“If this trend continues, it will bring about an unhealthy work environment in hospitals, resulting in untold hardship on patients,” Ndukuba told journalists at the briefing.

Key Resolutions

MDCAN also condemned the disenfranchisement of medical professors from contesting for the office of Vice Chancellor in universities, describing it as discriminatory and counterproductive.

Among its resolutions, the Association urged governments to:

  • Improve the welfare and working conditions of doctors to curb brain drain and the “Japa syndrome.”

  • Provide matching infrastructure and personnel for increased manpower production in the health sector.

  • Implement the promised 50% subsidy in public hospitals to reduce healthcare costs.

  • Stop encroachment by allied health professionals into medical practice to safeguard patient safety.

The communiqué stressed that the continued appointment of consultants from professions allied to medicine “has caused confusion and chaos in hospitals as it concerns patient care and safety.”

University Leadership and Healthcare Funding

On university leadership, MDCAN decried the exclusion of medical professors from vying for Vice Chancellor positions, insisting that such practices undermine meritocracy.

The group also lamented the non-implementation of the 50% electricity subsidy for public hospitals, saying the delay threatens the success of President Bola Tinubu’s “Renewed Hope Agenda” for healthcare.

New Executives

At the Enugu meeting, MDCAN elected new national officers, including:

  • Prof. Apollos Ndukuba — President

  • Prof. Sani Adamu — Vice President 1

  • Prof. Mohammed Abdulrahman — Vice President 2

  • Dr. Augustustine N. Duru — Secretary General

  • Dr. Olowusi Banji Zacharaiah — Assistant Secretary General

  • Prof. Chidinma Brenda Nwatu — Treasurer

  • Dr. Taiwan Alatishe — Publicity Secretary

  • Dr. Peter Teru Yaru — Auditor

  • Prof. Mohammed Aminu Mohammed — Ex-Officio 1

  • Prof. Daiyabu Alhaji Ibrahim — Ex-Officio 2

  • Prof. Titus O. Chukwuanukwu — Editor, NJCP

MDCAN concluded by reaffirming its commitment to quality healthcare delivery, warning that attempts to dilute medical standards could jeopardize the lives of patients across Nigeria.