- How health workers’ negligence kills patients daily – Victims
- Our women dying with their unborn babies, Families cry out
- We’re overstretched, Doctors lament
BY TIMOTHY AGBOR, BRIGHT JACOB<, OKIEMUTE ONOKPASA, GARETH UDOM, AKATAPO JACKSON AND CATHERINE NWANDU-OFFOR
A month-long investigation by The Point has brought to the fore the rot in medical facilities across Nigeria.
The investigations, conducted by our correspondents across the states, revealed that some patients, especially pregnant women, had lost their lives and the lives of their unborn babies, owing to medical negligence.
Another threatening situation that was confirmed was the reported astronomical rise in the migration of medical doctors, nurses and other health workers to foreign countries.
Stakeholders in the health sector also identified the shortage of medical equipment in public hospitals as worrisome and depressive.
They lamented that most public health facilities in the country were rated low because of the lack of basic medical equipment.
The Point’s investigations revealed that on some occasions, equipment such as infusion devices and blood test kits were not readily available in the public hospitals.
Most times, during an emergency, patients are required to go out and procure the items needed by themselves.
Patients confirmed that the hospitals were burdened by the problem of epileptic power supply.
Although some of the public hospitals have power generating sets, it was gathered that most often, patients had to contribute money to purchase fuel for major activities such as surgery to be carried out.
“We had to contribute money for fuel when my wife was about to put to bed. Also, when my sister was in a serious condition, we brought a power generating set to the hospital from home,” a man, who simply identified himself as Timothy, said.
A woman, Balkis Ayoade, said that her elder sister was delivered of her baby with the aid of torchlight at the General Hospital’s Labour Room in Offa, Kwara State, while a source who craved anonymity, revealed how her brother died at the hospital, owing to the “absence of first aid equipment.”
She expressed surprise that there was no fuel in the ambulance that was meant to be used to convey the victim to another hospital in Ilorin for further treatment.
A patient, who lamented the poor services being rendered at the hospitals, advised the Federal Government to pump more funds into public hospitals.
“Findings revealed that out of about 500 doctors in Niger State, 39 doctors and 800 other medical staff had left to seek greener pastures in the last two years alone”
“Most people won’t know that they are short-staffed or in need of vital equipment until they visit there for medical attention. It is actually bad,” she said.
The Point reliably gathered that most of the medical doctors at the public hospitals spend more time working at their private health centres at the expense of patients in the public hospitals. Some of the patients told our correspondent that some doctors were negligent in their duties with the aim of making patients see the need to go to private hospitals.
A nursing mother, who simply identified herself as Veronica, told The Point how she was referred to a private hospital in Akure, Ondo State by a doctor who was attending to her at the State Specialist Hospital, Akure.
“I was surprised to see the doctor when my husband took me to his private hospital. I was in labour then and the doctor had told me that there was a place that he would refer me to in order to avoid the delivery of my baby through cesarean session. Unknown to me, he is the owner of the private hospital. After giving birth, he gave exorbitant bills,” she said.
The recent deaths of a former Chief Press Secretary and Commissioner for Information in Niger State, Danladi Ndayebo, and a Special Assistant to the Senate President, Mohammed Isa, have also exposed the rot in medical facilities in Niger State.
A brother of Ndayebo said the ex-commissioner died from negligence on the part of health workers at the Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida Specialist Hospital in Minna.
Ndayebo who was involved in a motor accident about 35 kilometers to Minna on the Suleja-Minna express road at about 7:30pm on November 6, died at past 2pm on November 7.
According to Ndayebo’s younger brother, Usman Ndayebo, the ex-commissioner arrived at the hospital at about 9:30pm talking normally but complained about slight pain on his chest.
The younger Ndayebo said his brother was unattended as no scan or x-ray was carried out to ascertain the reason for the chest pain all through the night up until the morning.
“From the time they were brought to the hospital, there were no staff to operate the scan machine or the x-ray machine to carry out tests on him.
“There is a scanner and an x-ray machine in the hospital but the staff were not on ground to operate the machines,” he stated.
He said by morning, the late Ndayebo still wasn’t being attended to until a former Secretary to the Niger State Government, Kuta Yahaya, intervened, adding that as they were about to transfer him to the general hospital, he died.
Ndayebo died on Monday, while Mohammed died on Friday of the same week.
The Secretary to the State Government, Ahmed Ibrahim Matane, also confirmed that he had received reports that the two victims were not attended to at the time they were brought to the hospital.
He said the government was concerned that such negligence happened in a public hospital that ought to have responded professionally to such emergencies instead of with levity and negligence.
According to him, a committee has been constituted on the directive of Governor Abubakar Sani Bello of the state, to find out the circumstances that led to the death of Ndayebo, establish whether or not there was negligence on the part of the hospital or its personnel, and review the operations of IBB Specialist Hospital to identify professional deficiencies.
Further investigations by The Point revealed that the cases of Ndayebo and Mohammed were just one out of many, as many other patients have suffered the same fate over the years, largely due to the dearth of medical personnel in such facilities across the country.
Findings revealed that out of about 500 doctors in Niger State, 39 doctors and 800 other medical staff had left to seek greener pastures in the last two years alone.
Currently, Mokwa General Hospital has two doctors; Bida General Hospital has four doctors; Kutigi General Hospital has one doctor; Agaie General Hospital has three doctors; Lapai General Hospital, two doctors; and Kuta General Hospital, two doctors.
Similarly, Kafin-Koro General Hospital, General Hospital Tungan-Magajiya, General Hospital Bangi and General Hospital Nasko, have one doctor each, while hospitals in Auna and Gulu have two doctors each.
The Niger State Chairman of the Nigeria Medical Association, Mohammed Yusuf, confirmed the dearth of manpower in the state hospitals.
He said it was a source of concern to the association as the remaining few doctors had been overstretched, noting that some doctors worked from morning till evening.
The Commissioner for Health, Mohammed Makusidi, said the issue was a nationwide problem.
FEDERAL CAPITAL TERRITORY
The joy of an Abuja-based family became tears in August after the death of their newborn baby at the Kubwa General Hospital, Abuja, owing to alleged negligence.
The Point gathered that the baby died after the nurse on duty allegedly refused to attend to the mother, Mrs. Blessing Okwor, when she arrived at the hospital.
Okwor said she got to the hospital around 4pm on August 1 and the nurse checked her but said she was only two-centimetre dilated and needed to be 10cm before she could put to bed.
“She asked me to go home and return at 10pm. When it was 10pm, we came back but she didn’t touch me. She said I wasn’t close to giving birth. Again, she asked me to go back and come in four hours.
“When we returned four hours later, she touched my tummy while I was still standing. She said I was not ready to give birth and that I should come back in another four hours. Then I left the hospital.
“When my water broke around 2.36am, I was taken back to the hospital. I told her that my water had broken and I was vomiting. I told her I was tired and losing strength.
She didn’t touch me; she said I should go and I wasn’t close to giving birth.
“I told her I couldn’t walk again. She asked me to lie on a bed in the delivery room. She didn’t touch me, everywhere was open and there were many mosquitoes.
“Nobody was with me; I had to stand to go outside to meet my husband and sister who went with me to the hospital. My husband asked them to give me a bed but they refused because I was not their patient; then we left,” she added.
The woman said shortly after she got home, her condition became critical and she was rushed back to the hospital.
“This was around 6am the next day. She asked me to lie down but nobody attended to me until another nurse asked her to assist me. That was when she came to me and noticed that I was due.
“She was standing and asking me to push. I pushed once; she didn’t ask me to push again as she used scissors to cut me. Another nurse told her she would have allowed me to push at least five times before cutting me.
“The other nurse and another cleaner helped me to push and my baby came out,” she added.
The baby was said to have died around 2am on Tuesday, August 2, 2022.
Okwor, who fought back tears while speaking to our correspondent, said she had yet to recover from the shock of her baby’s death.
She said, “When the baby came out, the next thing I heard was that the baby pooped inside me and drank dirty water. They placed him on oxygen and were treating him but I was complaining that if she (the nurse) had attended to me when I came, this wouldn’t have happened. She then said it was not her fault that my baby didn’t make it.”
The Chief Medical Director of the hospital, Muideen Lasisi, while sympathizing with the woman, said only God determines what happens during childbirth.
“Sources claimed that the woman, who went through excruciating pain for several hours, was abandoned in the labour room by the nurses on duty. She consequently died alongside her unborn child while waiting for a doctor on December 10, 2022”
ONDO
In Ondo State, the family of one-year-and-seven-month-old Dominion Akintan has accused the management of Okitipupa General Hospital, Ondo State, of negligence after he died at the hospital.
The Point gathered that the child, who was rushed to the facility on Saturday, October 8, for blood transfusion, did not get medical attention due to shortage of personnel.
It was learnt that Dominion died while his parents and a Good Samaritan attempted to take him from the hospital to a private clinic, which was some kilometres away.
When contacted, the Ondo State Commissioner for Health, Banji Ajaka, said the chief medical director of the hospital confirmed the incident.
The health commissioner, however, blamed the parents of the child for not seeking medical attention on time.
Ajaka said the chief medical director had been asked to reach out to the bereaved parents, adding that the state government would look into the incident.
LAGOS
The Lagos State Government said in September that it had commenced full investigations into the death of a three-year old male patient, who reportedly died while undergoing medical treatment at the Eti-Osa Maternal and Childcare Centre, Lekki-Ajah area of the state.
The state government was reacting to a viral video on social media where the deceased’s father attributed the boy’s death to negligence and misconduct on the part of the hospital.
In the video, the deceased lay on a bed while the bereaved father was relaying what transpired before his son passed on.
According to him, his son who was on admission at the facility gave up the ghost as a result of overdose of medication applied by a nurse.
He alleged that rather than explaining what led to the patient’s death to him, the nurse and other personnel in the facility abandoned the body and ran to a nearby Police station to investigate the matter.
However, Akin Abayomi, Lagos State Commissioner for Health, in a statement dated September 28, 2022, expressed condolences to the bereaved family promising to conduct full investigations into the allegation.
He said the management of the facility had also officially reported the incident to the Ministry while an investigation into the allegation and the circumstances surrounding the unfortunate incident had since commenced at the facility level.
DELTA
In Delta State, the government is investigating the death of four newborn babies that died, owing to alleged negligence on the part of the doctor on duty at the Sapele Central Hospital in the Sapele Local Government Area of the state.
Confirming the incident, the Commissioner for Information, Charles Aniagwu, insisted that the incident must be investigated before a logical conclusion is made.
Reports have it that the doctor on duty was allegedly drunk and the hospital was without power supply at the same time
Also confirming the incident, the State Commissioner for Health, Mordi Ononye, said the allegation of drunkenness was a serious one.
She added that if found guilty, the officer involved would be made to face the full wrath of the law.
KWARA
If Mrs. Fauzeeyah Onaopemipo Salaudeen had known that her decision to deliver her baby at the Offa General Hospital in Kwara State would cost her life and that of the baby, she would have opted for a safer alternative.
Salaudeen, an expectant mother, left her home on her due date with high hope to be back with her bundle of joy after delivery, but the dream of bearing her child with pride and gratitude was aborted in the labour room.
Sources claimed that the woman, who went through excruciating pain for several hours, was abandoned in the labour room by the nurses on duty. She consequently died alongside her unborn child while waiting for a doctor on December 10, 2022.
OSUN
Peter Oko had a bitter experience on December 9, 2022 but he luckily cheated death.
He had a persistent sharp stomach pain so he visited a patent medicine dealer at his Oke-Baale community in Osogbo. After procuring some drugs, he returned home with the hope that he would soon recuperate after taking the medication, but his pain aggravated.
With the help of some of his neighbours, he was rushed to the State Hospital, Asubiaro, Osogbo.
Narrating his ordeal, he said, “I would have died that night if not for my neighbours who were with me. I was rushed to the State Hospital, Asubiaro on Saturday, December 10. At night, a female staff of the hospital asked one of those with me at the reception if I was registered at the hospital or not. They said no, so the woman directed one of them to buy an exercise book at the hospital gate for use as an admission card.
“Despite the fact that I was rolling on the hospital floor as a result of the excruciating pain and considering the urgency attached to my condition, no one attended to me. The woman said that I should wait, explaining that the doctor would soon be around. After about 30 minutes, the woman said that I should come back the next day as the doctor could no longer make it. I was astonished.
“I was then rushed to Jaleyemi Hospital where I was admitted and diagnosed with appendicitis. A surgery was conducted after drips were passed into my body.”
Almost the same way as Oko relayed his experience, some patients shared their experiences at the Offa General Hospital, stating that most patients met their untimely deaths at the hospital as a result of negligence, shortage of manpower and due to poor health facilities.
One of them who did not want her name in print alleged that doctors would sometimes neglect their duties to watch football matches at the hospital. He said that they would ignore the cries of pregnant women in labour and others in critical conditions.
According to her, on Friday, December 9, 2022, a pregnant woman visited the Offa General Hospital for delivery and the nurse on duty told her that it was not her Expected Date of Delivery. The lady, upon advice by a friend, went to the health centre behind the Olofa Palace for assessment. Contrary to what she was told earlier, she was told at the health centre that she was due for delivery. She reportedly gave birth before 9pm the same night at the private health facility.
Also, Sunday Obinna, an Igbo trader resident in Offa, explained that he requested that his wife should be discharged from the hospital as a result of shortage of doctors.
Obinna said, “My wife was once at the point of delivery. We were going up and down without anybody to attend to us at the Offa General Hospital. Someone later attended to us when I created a scene and drew people’s attention. A nurse said that the doctor was not around and that we should either come back or wait. We went to a private hospital where my wife eventually delivered her baby almost an hour after. I regretted encouraging her to go to that hospital for antenatal care.”
In her own case, Balikis Adeola, mother-of-four, alleged that in 2013, she lost her first child due to negligence on the part of the hospital staff. She said, “Same thing happened to me in 2013. They (the medical practitioners at Offa General Hospital) made me lose my baby. They abandoned me and went to sleep. I delivered the baby myself. The baby had inhaled blood and dirt before coming out. They had to beat him before he cried. I lost the baby on the third day at the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital at Oke Oyi.”
In view of the many lives that have been lost, owing to the very poor state of health facilities across the country, many concerned Nigerians are calling on the state governments to address the issue of brain drain in the health sector alongside the problem of insufficient equipment and complacency on the part of the physicians.
