A professor of Surgery and Trauma, Obiora Onuba, has said medical services in Nigeria are not good enough to manage emergencies and terrorists’ attacks in the country.
Onuba said this while delivering the 35th Convocation Lecture of the National Postgraduate Medical College of Nigeria, with the theme, “Medical Management of Terrorist Bombing of Nigerian Civilians: Lesson to Learn.”
According to him, major problems in managing emergencies range from lack of communication between disaster scene and local hospitals, lack of security consideration for scene and medical personnel, lack of authority and command structures as well as lack of psycho-social treatment for the victims and
rehabilitation.
Other impediments, he said, included lack of Close Circuit Television in public places due to increase in suicide bombings, lack of the details of the patients treated to aid early management of future complications.
While noting that terrorism was unknown to Nigeria and must not be encouraged, he, however, said doctors and health institutions needed to do the needful to save the lives of people involved.
Onuba also said good governance in all institutions, tolerance and caring for all citizens at the same level in the country was important.
He urged all doctors to learn to recognise and meet the needs of blast victims, adding that specialists must be trained in new skills for extrication, triage and transport of bomb victims, while tertiary care centres should be in each state with adequate staff and equipment.
He also urged the government to invest in research on the prevention of psychological problems caused by terrorist
attacks.
“It must be established as an integral part of mental power during and after terrorists’ bomb blast. All clinicians must play their roles of saving lives at all such emergencies and unprepared attacks,” he said.
Onuba added that a command structure should be established with a senior medical member of staff to monitor the influx of casualty, arrival and delegation of staff to casualty.
“It is important that as patients are admitted, accurate documentation is done and communication with relatives,” he said.
For record keeping, the don said health institutions must maintain written documentation of all funding and intervention for victims and continuity of care.
