Doctor Warns Anaesthesia Staff Shortage Could Put Emergency Patients at Risk

Nigeria’s shortage of skilled anaesthesia professionals could undermine emergency, trauma, and critical care delivery and slow progress towards Universal Health Coverage (UHC), Dr Stephen Akeremale, a flight physician and emergency medical services practitioner, said.

Akeremale, Managing Director of Braingrace Ambulance Services Limited, said expanding advanced training in anaesthesia and airway management is essential to strengthening the country’s capacity to respond to patients whose conditions can deteriorate rapidly during emergencies, ambulance transfers, and medical evacuations.

He spoke in Lagos on Thursday after graduating from the School of Anaesthetic Studies, Badagry, with a Diploma in Anaesthesia accredited by the West African College of Surgeons (WACS).

The school graduated 76 healthcare professionals, including 24 nurse anaesthetists and 52 anaesthetic technicians, and secured full WACS accreditation for its Diploma, Membership and Fellowship programmes.

The school’s Coordinator, Dr Abiola Aduke Mafe, described the development as a significant boost to the country’s anaesthesia workforce.

Mafe also disclosed that four registrars achieved a 100 per cent pass in the Part 1 examinations, while another candidate became a Fellow of the National Postgraduate Medical College of Nigeria.

Akeremale said anaesthesia was no longer limited to the operating theatre but had become critical to intensive care, emergency medicine, trauma care, pre-hospital services and aeromedical operations.

“For those of us working in emergency ambulance services and air medical transport, there is no room for uncertainty when a patient’s airway becomes compromised,” he said.

According to him, rapid assessment, securing, and managing a compromised airway could determine whether a critically ill or injured patient survived, particularly during medical evacuation.

Akeremale said his experience in emergency medical services and medical evacuation informed his decision to pursue advanced anaesthesia training.

“As a Flight Physician, I regularly participate in medical evacuations and medical escort operations involving patients transported by air and road. During these missions, patients may deteriorate unexpectedly, requiring advanced airway management, emergency resuscitation, ventilatory support, or endotracheal intubation,” he said.

He said the training had strengthened his knowledge and competence in airway management, critical care, sedation, pain control, monitoring, ventilatory support and emergency response.

“These competencies are invaluable for professionals involved in emergency medicine, critical care transport, and aeromedical services,” he said.

Akeremale urged doctors, nurses, and other health professionals to consider specialisation in anaesthesia and critical care, stressing that Nigeria and other African countries need more professionals with advanced skills in airway management, resuscitation, and emergency care.

“For me, studying Anaesthesia was not simply about earning a diploma; it was about acquiring the knowledge, competence, and confidence necessary to secure the most precious gift of all—human life.

“Every new skill acquired in medicine represents another opportunity to save a life,” Akeremale said.

The late Commodore Dr Olaniyi Oladapo, the school’s pioneer coordinator, was also remembered and commended for his role in establishing and developing the institution.