Resident doctors enforce 24-hour shift limit amid alarming shortages

The Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) has announced a new policy restricting doctors nationwide from working continuous shifts longer than 24 hours, effective October 1, 2025.

The move comes as NARD warns of Nigeria’s worsening healthcare crisis, marked by a doctor-to-patient ratio of 1:19,083, far below global standards.

In a statement commemorating Nigeria’s 65th Independence Anniversary, signed by NARD President Dr. Mohammad Suleiman, Secretary-General Dr. Shuaibu Ibrahim, and Publicity Secretary Dr. Abdulmajid Ibrahim, the group decried the overwhelming workload on the country’s remaining doctors.

Nigeria, with a population of more than 240 million, has only about 11,000 resident doctors, many of whom work over 100 hours per week, with surgical residents averaging 122 hours. This translates to multiple 24-hour calls each week, NARD noted.

“This situation is deeply troubling. It leads to burnout, medical errors, and even death among young doctors,” the association said.

“Too often, resident doctors sacrifice their health, and sometimes their lives, in service to patients.

“The question remains: how many more must die before action is taken?”

The crisis has been compounded by mass emigration, with over 16,000 Nigerian doctors leaving the country in the past five to seven years in search of better opportunities abroad.

NARD urged the Federal Ministry of Health to implement a one-to-one replacement policy to ease the workload, introduce safeguards to regulate call hours, and ensure fair pay and protection for doctors who remain in Nigeria.

Calling those who stayed behind “patriots and heroes,” the group stressed that urgent reforms are needed to protect both doctors and patients from the dangers of an overstretched health system.