Follow Us on Google
From Fred Ezeh, Abuja
Patients and other health-seeking Nigerians are increasingly losing hope and interest in patronising public hospitals in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. But, many of them are left with only that option because of the high cost of services at private hospitals.
The reason is because some ‘inhumane, illegal and wicked’ practices are recorded at various government-owned hospitals in Abuja, and, expectedly, patients, especially those from weak financial backgrounds, have been at the receiving end.
Public hospitals are now regarded as death centres, hence the elite and a few others in the middle class patronise private hospitals, leaving the public hospitals for people at the bottom of the ladder.
Aside from the National Hospital, University of Abuja Teaching Hospital (UATH) and Federal Medical Centre (FMC), and other public hospitals in Abuja, particularly in Wuse, Asokoro, Nyanya, Kubwa, Maitama and Life Camp, there are several other district hospitals owned and managed by the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA), through the Health and Human Services Secretariat.
These hospitals were built years ago when the population of Abuja was low. However, each hospital was known to be very good in different health care specialities. But, lately, the services have dropped significantly, making patients experience hard times at the hospitals.
Also, these hospitals are known for different infractions, ranging from poor record-keeping, poor medical attention, wrong diagnosis, corruption and other ills that discourage patients from visiting them for any form of medical service.
Given that population growth in Abuja has gone beyond expectations, there is evidence that seven out of 10 new entrants in Abuja never return to their base. They choose to remain for various reasons.
The growth, regrettably, is without a corresponding attention from the Federal Government and the FCT administration as regards basic amenities, expansion or upgrade of infrastructures, which has put tremendous pressure on the already dilapidated facilities in Abuja. Amenities such as roads, schools, water system and power supply, among others, have been oversubscribed and overstretched.
A few public hospitals offer health care services to millions of Abuja residents and visitors from neighbouring states. Daily, public hospitals in Abuja are crowded with patients that are enveloped with pain, waiting endlessly for the attention of a doctor or any other health worker.
Many of the patients, amid the pain, spend long hours, sometimes days, at the hospitals to get the needed attention of the doctors or consultants. When they finally do, they are treated with “disdain, unkind and unprofessional” words by “overworked, unmotivated and undedicated” health workers.
However, there are indications that the significant increase in demand for healthcare services in Abuja facilities was because of poor state of medical facilities in neighbouring states like Niger, Nasarawa, Kaduna, Kogi and Plateau, forcing the hospitals to change their operational style to favour certain categories of patients.
There are also indications that patient’s ability to get quality and timely medical services is dependent on the generosity of patients. Patients are, however, left with no option than to be generous in order to get quick and quality services, particularly bed spaces and other critical services in the hospital. Unfortunately, those that cannot afford the cost are asked to use low standard facilities that could best be described as “inhuman.”
Patients have often lamented that, in spite of billions of naira pumped into the public health care system over the years, Nigerians are still faced with unprofessional, corrupt services, wrong diagnoses, indifferent or unfriendly health workers and other issues that discourage people from visiting public hospitals in Abuja.
Former minister of the FCT, Senator Bala Mohammad, created new districts during his tenure as part of efforts to open up Abuja and decongest the city centre. But, years after, basic facilities in the new district hospitals are yet to spring up to provide health care for the residents of the districts.
Residents rely on the overstretched facilities in the city centre and satellite towns to get essential services.
National Hospital
The complaints seems to be loudest at the National Hospital, Abuja. This may be because of the kind of the services rendered there.
At the National Hospital, patients have different experiences, sweet and bitter, in the course of seeking medical services.
Many patients have described the hospital as a “death zone” that patients visit with anxiety, fear and 50-50 chances of survival. Several others disagreed with the position. The decision may be because of different experiences they have had in the past while seeking medical services.
A few weeks ago, Feyisola, from Kabayi in Mararaba, a neighbouring town, told Daily Sun that he visited the National Hospital to get treatment for a broken leg.
He said: “I was admitted at the trauma centre and ‘abandoned’ there. I was admitted at 9am and was never attended to till late in the evening. Several doctors visited the ward but never attended to me for reasons I don’t know. My family were forced to take me to a local bone attendant, where I got the relief and needed attention.
“I weep for anyone that would rely on public hospitals in Nigeria for urgent medical attention. Many people, especially the low and middle income earners, are forced to patronise these hospitals because they have no option. Despite their poor services, patients are still treated with disdain.”
A taxi driver, Kennedy Amazi, narrated how he witnessed the unprofessional attitude of a nurse who yelled at a woman who just lost her baby shortly after delivery due to alleged ‘carelessness’ of the health workers.
He said: “I had to confront the nurse and reminded her that the woman she was yelling at just lost her newborn baby. The nurse was practically shouting at the woman, saying: ‘abeg, abeg pack your things and leave the ward so we can attend to other people.’ That was rude, insulting and unprofessional.”
On the contrary, a patient and mother of two, who identified herself as Loveth, said she was impressed with the services she received at the Family Medicine Department of the National Hospital.
“The services are not as perfect as expected but there was slight improvement as regards medical services in the hospital, compared with the experiences I had the last time I visited,” she said.
Meanwhile, spokesman for the hospital, Dr. Tayo Hasstrup, dismissed reports that the hospital offered low-standard medical services to patients.
He said: “Please, call my attention to any of these issues and I will dispatch my staff to investigate. National Hospital is the mirror of Nigeria, as regards medical services and we cannot afford to give Nigerians low-standard medical services. What you said might be happening elsewhere but definitely not in National Hospital, Abuja.”
Federal Medical Centre, Jabi
At FMC, Jabi, our correspondent was confronted with dissatisfied patient’s caregivers at a car park beside the hospital’s gate. The dissatisfied caregivers lamented the poor treatment towards their brother in one of the general wards.
A sister to the patient, who identified herself at Amaka Darlington, said her brother had been in pain and did not get the attention needed, and they were considering taking him to a private facility for proper medical care.
She said: “We brought him here a few days ago for medical attention. First, we were forced to make some financial deposit before he was even touched by one of the doctors after several pleas. Each night he spent in hospital, we are being billed N5,000 and that was because he’s in the general ward. Those in the VIP ward, which is en suite, are billed N20,000.”
Another patient, Rakiya Musa, said she was a first-time visitor to the hospital, but was disappointed at the kind of service she got.
She said: “I came to FMC, Jabi, from Keffi, Nasarawa State, for medical attention. FMC, Jabi, was recommended by many family and friends that I shared my health challenge with. Unfortunately, I was disappointed with what I got here in terms of services. The workers are rude, uncoordinated and not a dedicated set of people. It was a horrible experience.
“As advised, I came to the hospital as early as possible on Monday morning a few days ago so I could get the needed medical attention for my diagnosed ailment. Unfortunately, I sat in one place for several hours without attention. My saving grace was one male doctor whom I suspected is a Hausa man. I was forced to approach him to register my disappointment. That was when he took me to someone that attended to me.”
Wuse district hospital
Wuse district hospital, located in Wuse Zone 3, Abuja, is owned and managed by FCT Administration with over 200 bed spaces. Health care services in the hospital are more advanced than what is obtained in Kubwa, Nyanya, Bwari and several other general hospitals in satellite towns.
However, there are unconfirmed claims that it is one of the most patronised hospitals in Abuja. This could be because of advanced medical services. As a result, they attend to more serious health issues in the hospital. But there are worrisome reports that some patients in the hospital were recently subjected to “community services” due to inability to offset medical debts.
A victim, who pleaded anonymity, narrated a story of how she was forced out of one of the wards in the hospital due to prolonged stay and inability to pay hospital bills.
She said: “A nurse came one morning and informed me that the hospital management reviewed my case and agreed that I should do cleaning and other related work that would be equivalent to the debt I owed.
“I had no option but to do that so I could be free from harassment and emotional molestation. They monitored me closely as I cut flowers and did other cleaning responsibilities for two months before I was let go.”
She suggested that government should make a budgetary provision to attend to such cases where patient are unable to afford hospital bills: “The hospital management should find a way they could present the matter to government so they can reconcile the figures.”
Asokoro district hospital
The story in Asokoro hospital is also similar to what was recorded in other public hospitals in Abuja. A patient who identified himself as Zakari told our correspondent that his wife almost lost her life to the unprofessional attitude of the health workers, and he was ready to take it up with the relevant bodies, including the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN).
He said his wife received poor medical attention for the three days she was admitted in Asokoro hospital: “We are regulars here in this hospital. Some times, we visit briefly, depending on the reason for the visit. But each time we visit, the workers display unfriendly attitude to us, something that could be likened to pouring their family anger on us. This time, my wife was down with yet-to-be diagnosed ailment, and she was admitted in the female ward.
“So far, I have been dissatisfied with the attention she’s getting and I am considering taking her somewhere else but the challenge I have is funds. If not, I would have taken her elsewhere for proper and timely medical attention.
“For instance, a few days ago, fear enveloped me when a woman in the next ward suddenly developed complications or whatever and died. Shortly before that time, the caregivers were shouting, calling for attention from the health workers, which they never got. Before the doctor and nurses could arrive, the woman had given up. The nurses just covered her remains and moved her to the mortuary. I was shocked to hear from one of the oldest patients there that that’s how patients die all the time and life continues.”
A patient simply identified as Aniete also accused the hospital of being careless with patients’ records and other documentation that would have guaranteed smooth operations of the hospitals.
She suggested that a functional desk or channel be created to enable patients who were dissatisfied with the services or approaches by the health workers to lay their complaints and get justice.
She said: “One of the cashiers at a pay point opposite the consultants’ office on the ground floor of Asokoro Hospital displayed high level of rudeness to me on one of the days I visited the hospital weeks ago. I couldn’t bear it anymore, such that I had to respond to him harshly. Other people on the queue intervened and cautioned him before he could apologise.”
Maitama district hospital
Maitama district hospital is one of the busiest public hospitals in Abuja. Hundreds of health-seeking Nigerians besiege the hospital on daily basis for one form of medical services or the other. Regrettably, there are issues of shortage of manpower, particularly doctors and other specialists, hence trainee doctors are allowed to attend to some issues.
Unfortunately, the trainee doctors who are supposed to work alongside consultants are left to attend to patients alone, even when they lack the knowledge and skills in different fields of medicine. This, perhaps, might have forced them to rely on Google and other search engines for information on a particular ailment.
Expectedly, the development is fast eroding public confidence in the abilities and competences of the doctors to save life or issue accurate advisory on health issues.
A patient, Linda Akaji, said she was forced to leave Maitama General Hospital in the middle of consultation when she realised that the doctor attending to her was practically relying on Google for information on the case presented.
She said: “My brother, things have degenerated in our public service system, especially the health care system. People’s lives are being used to play ‘Kalo Kalo’ at several hospitals by doctors. Doctors and other critical health care workers arm themselves with Google to get information on what to tell their patients. It’s not peculiar to doctors in public hospitals, those in private do so too, but it’s high in public hospitals because of young trainee doctors who are left alone to attend to patients without input from senior consultants. It’s a pathetic situation, the experiences I have had and heard in these hospitals. I don’t know if it’s professionally right for a doctor to regularly consult Google or other search engines for information to attend to patients.”
Another patient, Agnes Udoka, shared her experience with Daily Sun.
“There are lots of young, trainee doctors in public hospitals in Abuja, especially at the National Hospital and some other FCT-owned hospitals. Ideally, they are supposed to be attached to a senior consultant for practical knowledge. But, most of the consultants are often not available in the hospitals because of divided attention.
“I found out that most run private hospitals and they spend most of their time there. In some cases, they secretly refer patients there for certain class of treatment.”
She admitted that there was nothing wrong with the use of the internet for information going by the revolution across the world, but suggested that the doctors shouldn’t be doing that in front of the patients so they don’t lose the trust and confidence of the patients.
Professor of Otorhinolaryngology (study of diseases of the ear, nose, and throat), Titus Ibekwe, at the University of Abuja Teaching Hospital (UATH), admitted that the internet has revolutionised global information-sharing in every field of endeavour, including medicine and health.
He said the search engines are routes to sourcing for information under one roof, as it contains the good, the bad and the ugly and added that the internet could be useful as an adjunct to buffering information, and also as a means for primary health knowledge exposition.
He, also, highlighted the dangers therein: “Conversely, it could be misleading, too.This is why medical professionals should use the search engines as a means to an end and not an end on its own. It’s useful for memory recall and cannot be a substitute for the skill acquisition.
“The medical knowledge acquired over the years through medical training and experience via medical practices cannot be obtained over pages of internet, thus, relying 100 per cent on the information out there is extremely dangerous and could lead to quackery.
“Furthermore, the untrained and uncertified individuals must not attempt self treatment based on what they dig up from the internet. Medical practice and human health management are more complex and beyond these documentations.
“Above all, responses and reactions do occur which are individualized. Responses to stimulus that do not follow the stereotyped documentations in the internets. These knowledge are only available to the trained and exposed hands only. The internet is ‘pot pori” of information, which is most useful when used with caution. Let’s not forget that there is often no second chance to life.”
Bwari General Hospital
Bwari General Hospital is an over 50-bed capacity hospital with approved services in surgery, dental service, optometry, emergency services and several others.
It might not be as busy as some other healthcare facilities in Abuja with advanced medical services but it is expected to service the health needs of residents and environ. Unfortunately, otherwise is the case.
A staff of the hospital, who declined to be named, told our correspondent that the hospital has not been performing optimally due to absence of the necessary health services.
He said: “I felt so bad and disappointed when the hospital could not give adequate medical care to victims of the violence that erupted in Bwari last December.
“On several occasions, victims of road accident along Abuja-Kaduna have been brought to the hospital for urgent medical attention but the hospital could not respond. It is a very big indictment on the management and FCT administration.
“Patients are forced to pay certain fees to get certain services that ought to be free. The worst is that the management don’t spend the money on the hospital. It, undoubtedly, enters private pocket.”
A patient in the hospital, who simply asked to be called Yusura, groaned in pain and anger over the level of facility decadence in the hospital.
She described government-owned health facilities as “place of death” due to poor medical services and level of negligence by the health workers.
She added: “I once visited Kubwa General Hospital and the experience was same. It was even better in Bwari hospital than Kubwa hospital. Kubwa hospital is obviously bigger and entertain more patients than Bwari hospital.
“There was a day I visited Kubwa hospital and I could neither get the attention of the doctors nor the nurses. Me and other patients were kept at the reception for several hours waiting for unavailable attention from the health workers. It was a horrible experience,” she said.
She added: “I wish I could afford the financial implications, I would have preferred to visit privately owned health facilities for medical attention than receiving insults from health workers in government health establishments.”
Nyanya General Hospital
A patient, Akintunde Solomon, told our correspondent that the hospital has undergone tremendous transformation in its services.
He confirmed that FCT Administration has continued to make investments to improve services in the hospital since the April 14, 2014, bomb explosion that rocked Nyanya bus terminal.
He, however, suggested expansion of the hospital facilities to accommodate influx of patients from Nyanya, Karu, Jikwoyi, Mararaba and other communities from neighbouring Nasarawa state.
Garki Hospital
Services at Garki hospital improved significantly since it was concessioned to Nisa Premier hospital which acquired part of facilities. The hospital is operated with the standards of private health care facility where services are for those that can afford the high cost.
Nevertheless, the hospital is faced with shortage of manpower, especially doctors, thereby forcing patients to spend more than expected time in queue waiting to be attended to by the few available doctors.
“A patient, Kamsi Oyoyo, said he prefers Garki hospital to other hospitals in Abuja not because they are the best, but because their shortcomings as not much, loud and obvious, as the cases in the other public hospitals. The best way to get quick and proper medical attention is to visit private health facilities. They are not perfect but they are better than what is obtainable in public health facilities.”
