HOSPITALITY AND HOSTILITY

It’s no news that the president of the largest Black Country in the world and a top oil exporting country which also doubles as the giant of Africa prefers foreign health care to the one he provides for increasing population. President Umaru Yar’Adua recently took a trip to Saudi Arabia for medical check, rejecting treatment from the National Hospital run by the federal government, and various private health institutions in the Country. This came after his controversial journey to Germany sometimes last year for medical treatment. This act is a very good example of the rot in our health institutions, no thanks to the same government that should be responsible for our welfare. The message is that if you don’t want to die or get miss-diagnosed like Chief Gani Fawehinmi did, you need to look else where for good health care. Mr. President has shown and demonstrated that no matter how complicated your ailment is, you can get good treatment only abroad.

The rot in our health institutions is visible for all to see and Mr. President should have re-branded it by paying visits to one of the government’s hospital whenever his ailment arises.

Government hospitals around the country has turned to hostels or camps where sick people are given beds to die on, it has become a place to spend your final time on earth if you are poor. Our hospitals have virtually nothing, the pharmacies are there to sell pure water in form of drips, and drugs are not included in the hospitals shopping list. Attitude of nursing staffs in these hospitals kills faster than any ailment, they are the ones that will dictate who lives or who dies in their wards. The ethics of Nurses that work in these hospitals are questionable, they operate like they are trained to take care of prisoners of war. They seem to unleash there anger of poor pay, inadequate working environment and poor working condition on their patients.

The issue of decay in government hospitals and lack of medical equipments and shortage of medical personnel’s in these hospitals has been in the news for decades, most of us pay lips service to issue and few of us has physical and recent experience of it. I used to believe the decay has been blown out of proportion or the case was not has bad has it’s been represented in the media and from peoples experience. Have always subscribed to the private health sector and I have never used any of the governments hospitals until recently.

A family member was admitted into one of the public hospitals in southwest Nigeria, the hospital is not run by the state or federal government, and it is managed by one of the first Christian body that came to Nigeria pre-colonial era. The hospitals philosophy of treating patients first before demanding for money makes it look like a free hospital though it is not. The charitable action of the hospital by taking care of patients before demanding for financial settlements made it a beehive for people from the nooks and crannies of the state. The hospital is well stocked in terms of drugs and you can virtually find all prescribed drugs in their pharmacy. The environment is well planned though human interference is causing havoc in the premise. Majority of its patients are middle class earner and less privilege and it also cater for the rich and mighty. Its fees are relatively good compared to what you get in private hospital which provides the same treatment at exorbitant rates.

The main reason of this write-up is the hospitality and hostility observed in this type of health institution and other government owned ones.

It has come to a stage that government trained nurses that work in this particular health institution has turned services rendered to people as privileges, they treat patient like refuges, and most of government owned hospitals are refined refuge camps. The nursing staffs of these hospitals are very arrogant and have no professional ethics. They shout at patients when talking to them. They attend to patient like they are in a veterinary hospital.

A visit to government owned hospitals across the southwest states shows how fast the sector is crumbling. Relatives of patients are subjected to carrying their sick relatives who cannot walk person themselves from doctors office to anywhere around the hospital that the patient has to go. I saw people backing elderly ones from laboratory to theater rooms, pregnant women unable to work are carried by their spouses. This health institutions lack basic medical facilities to cater for people, and their staff are not even willing to work diligently due to their cry of been underpaid. Only a staff nurse attends to patients in 10 rooms present in the ward where my relative was admitted. The same staff nurse is responsible for all patient admitted into the ward, she is responsible for their care and any mistake by her cannot be rectified quickly because the doctor visits once in a day and it’s always in the morning. I have personal witnessed cases where the staff nurse on duty will prescribe wrong dosage of drug. There was a case where the nurse asked me to get a 300g drug for my baby instead of 100g, it was the timely intervention of my wife who happens to have a very good knowledge of medication, she was quick to challenge the nurse on the age and dosage consumption of the little baby which turned out to be a mistake on the nurses part. My brother’s son wasn’t that lucky or should I say was lucky, he got a wrong measurement of drug administered and had his body covered rashes. The staff nurse thought administering higher grams of medication in the absence of the recommended lower grams will do no harm. We both got lucky in both cases, but many patients have lost their life and loved ones in similar and other relative cases.

The present neglect of our health institutions by the executive arm of the federal and state government is a warning to the entire populace to look else where for qualitative health care. Surgeons and medical directors of our government’s hospitals are now liaison officers for foreign hospitals. We all know the saga of a Lagos teaching hospital medical officer and a patient who was directed to a hospital in India for surgery on her daughter, she felt she was extorted by the Lagos hospital medical officer. The medical officer of the hospital did not deny in his interview with the press that they suggested overseas surgical treatment to patient and even help them in making payment to the India hospitals. The woman in the report published by a major newspaper in Nigeria, said she met several Nigerian women with their children recuperating after surgical session mostly cases of hole in the hearth and other heart and respiratory system related ailments. She further praised the professionalism of the Indian health officers, she also talked about the advance medical equipment in the hospital and how neat and safe the atmosphere in and around the hospital was. She also said the cost was bearable compared to what you get in Private hospitals in Nigeria.

The idea of not been able to care for ourselves and running oversea to get medical help is disgraceful, it shows how far we are behind the world. If India with her very high population could take care of its civilians and also has time for Nigerian patients what then can we do? The various government health policies are business oriented and it’s only the money to be gained in executing the project comes to mind not the purpose that the institution will serve. It will not be a welcomed idea if our health institution goes the way of PHCN, NITEL/MTEL, NPA, NRA, and POLICE FORCE.