Dear Nairalanders,

It is with so much passion and setting the records straight that I write this essay. I would emplore you to patiently read this and make your meaningful contributions. A Nairalander by the name Dr. Cosmatika wrote an essay yesterday detailing how some Nigerians died in his watch as a house officer. If you haven't read the essay I urge you to do so before you continue reading this piece. The essay is posted here: https://www.nairaland.com/2824995/bitter-experience-doctor-today

The OP thougt the essay was a great way to advocate for more funding in the health care industry, however, he only exposed a fundamental problem that constitutes the backbone of our healthcare system, which is the competence of doctors. In many climes, the OP would have been a perfect candidate for criminal prosecution by letting a patient die due to negligence of duty. It is not like we don't have this in our laws, it is there, it is just that we don't enforce it, and many patients don't care to exercise their right as citizens of this country. I have taken this matter personally because it could as well be any one of us. For easy reading I would itemize my points.

1. A quick summary of what the House officer did. Considering the fact that he is the FIRST ON CALL, a FIRST LINE DOCTOR!
- Patients were brought by the police, he triaged and identied the more critical ones.
- No actions were taken, rather he called his other HOs.
- No actions were taken, rather he called his second on call, and was already planning to refer without doing anything.
-Second on call automatically became a cashier and asked patients to deposit money or refer them.
- Patients died on the spot. He took pictures.
- Next he comes to Nairaland to lament.

2. No where in the world will such ineptitude be condoned. A FIRST ON CALL by definition is supposed to be seen trying to stabilize and SAVE the life of a patient whilst calling for any help. A second on call comes in when things are already being done, to give further instruction and assess the situation if the hospital has the capacity to handle any further treatment. This house officer failed in that fundamental duty, and therefore is indirectly responsible for the deaths of those patients by his actions and inactions.

3. Do government have a fault? Absolutely. However, in this case government failure cannot be blamed! Government infact most likely educated this doctor for almost free. In other societies, you have to be rich or have a scholarship or take huge loans to go to medical school. However the Nigerian government has been so gracious to subsidize the training of doctors. In Nigeria everyone thinks government is to blame for everything. We all contribute to the problem and this particular doctor contributed immensely to the sytem being broken.

4. He argues that government would have provided equipment. There was no canula to set a line? There was no hands for him to examine the patients? There was not IV fluids to give the patients? The hospital did not have the capacity to do an urgent PCV grouping and cross-matching?
How can your first action in an emergency situation be to call a second on call to give you the go ahead to take action or not?

We have come to a precipice in helathcare in this country, and this nonesense must stop. If anyone knows who this doctor is kindly pm me. I would sponsor this matter myself. This is grave negligence and indirect murder. It is NO political issue, rather it is an issue of incompetence, ineptitude and non-chalance to the discharge of duties. Government has absolutely a huge role to play:

-By making sure doctors are well enumerated.

-Making sure corruption is fought in most government hospitals, whose CMD sees the position as a way to become rich. I see the budgets every year, it is in billions to these hospitals, yet the CMD never thougt it wise to at least have a defibrillator in an emergency room. Majority of Nigerian doctors don't even know what a defibrillator looks like. This must stop!

-Make our NHIS scheme more workable, than allowing it only cover for treatments that most patients would ordinarily be able to afford regardless of insurance.

There are more but I would stop here. Let us do our own part in making our country great, and not all the time blaming government to perform magic!

-CramJones

Ok

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I think medicine should be assigned it's own institution..

That ''Doctor'' and his superiors he was calling should face a disciplinary panel...shikena.

It's a sad situation.The government's provisions in the health sector is poor.The government should do more for its citizens.
There should be punishments for erring health workers too.Some are negligent in their duty.

I think the HO doc is empirically culpable..

How can a doctor call another doc to ask of he could commence treatment.

Even a gate keeper should know what to do in a medical emergency.

FELIZ NAVIDAD

I just read the piece now and I must say that doctor killed some of those accident victims!
Even if they are going to charge you to court or sack you, at least treat those you are capable of treating rather than take order from somebody who is still on her bed and does not even know what is on ground, at the end of the day you would have been happy you saved life(s).
Besides, I think the law regarding treating emergency and gunshot patients before asking for money or police escort was passed, sometimes back after one lawmaker, who was shot by robbers, died in Benue!

If you liked,spend 1trillion dollars yearly on the health sector the same incompetency and decay will continue.
Untill,there is inclusiveness to take care of all interest groups within the health sector in terms of policy formulation and professionalism with strong focus on specializations at the primary, secondary and tertiary levels, then this sector is going nowhere,no matter the so called funding and renumeration. Infact,this is the major reason with litigations are why some countries have a robust system.Equipping and giving bogus salaries is just a lazy way of thinking and not the real solution.
Mind you the same applies to other sectors as well.Untill other professionals in all fields are also involved in policy making with the pratical structures to work, the so called developments we are clamouring for will still be a mirage.
Most Asian countries followed this route and the rest is history.The health sector like other sectors must be demolished and rebuilt again from the scratch. The political structure is even faulty at first and you wonder why the country is a disgrace.

True that! the govt over d years have faltered in their responsibilities across board, but d gentleman "doctor" simply is a simpleton!
At dt crucial moment, "govt policies" should be d least on his mind!
This is a plea to all parents who want their wards to study medicine whether "their brain can carry it" or not: "Let water find its level"

The ineptitude of that doctor was so alarming. I know that Nigerian patients are fond of defaulting in paying their hospital bills when they get well but that's not enough reason to deliberately allow them to die. Why not stabilize the condition of the patient before calling the senior colleague? Atleast that would have made the patient to live. Doctors are meant to save life and not for business or income. I can remember about Doctors across borders, who treat war victims for free. Medicine is a calling not for business or comfort. Just like to be a priest or pastor is a calling too. We shouldn't monetize this professions.

Reading that post and some people's comments really make me angry. We are talking about saving lives here, how much will it cost to stabilize the dieing lady? Look, I once paid a student's fee, as a teacher, because the principal was bent on sending all those that did not pay home! I could only pay for one person(of course, I collected my money back from the parents), but at least I prevent the young guy from missing classes!
At the end of the day, I was happy, the boy was happy, the parents were happy and funny enough, the principal was happy too!

What a doc. .............rip to the dead..

It is my profession and the house officer erred in this aspect. Accident and Emergency is a department in hospital where life comes before money in the first 24hrs. I think this is not a case of negligence but incompetence.

The doctor must have been chicken out by the severity of the case before him,hence calling for assistance instead of embarking on treatment to stabilise the patient before help arrives. The policy of hospital can be flouted here to provide first aid treatment before proper treatment is instituted and monetary aspect considered.

Psychologically, from the doctor's narrative story it can be inferred that the house officer is faced with guilty conscience whilst trying to push the blame to hospital policy and absolve himself from the death of the accident victims.

The calling of medicine should be sacrificial rather than monetary, that is what passion for something entails.As a medical student,there are times we tax ourselves and contribute to assist a patient who run out of cash.What of blood donation? The help a medical doctor can render is beyond treatment alone if the drive for the profession is to save lives.

bigerboy200:
That ''Doctor'' and his superiors he was calling should face a disciplinary panel...shikena.

I would a criminal inquest

Cramjones I appreciate the fact that you are taking this issue personal. I was sadden by the gross misconduct and negligence on the part of the Doctor. His behavior is a common practice in our healthcare system. Their common excuse is to blame the government and embark on prolonged strike actions. These wicked souls and vampires never bother to do some in house checks and find out what is actually wrong.

I was shocked and almost moved to tears when I observed some doctors supporting his course of actions. However, just like we have stupiidity in our society, we also have sane people. It was reliving to read from sane doctors on their own personal experience and how they would have done better.

Nevertheless, that doctor and his senior colleagues need to be in prison for negligence. I was also terrified when a presumed doctor claimed that most negligent cases are always settled out of court and doctors in Nigeria are not always prosecuted. This wicked thinking and attitude from that Doctor is a huge reason why Doctors continue to act arrogantly and kill without conscience or remorse.

Cramjones, I support you a 100 percent on this and it should be a lesson to our healthcare workers that the life of their patients is not just a piece of wood but should be treated with the respect and care.

Regards,

lokoloko84:
If you liked,spend 1trillion dollars yearly on the health sector the same incompetency and decay will continue.
Untill,there is inclusiveness to take care of all interest groups within the health sector in terms of policy formulation and professionalism with strong focus on specializations at the primary, secondary and tertiary levels, then this sector is going nowhere,no matter the so called funding and renumeration. Infact,this is the major reason with litigations are why some countries have a robust system.Equipping and giving bogus salaries is just a lazy way of thinking and not the real solution.
Mind you the same applies to other sectors as well.Untill other professionals in all fields are also involved in policy making with the pratical structures to work, the so called developments we are clamouring for will still be a mirage.
Most Asian countries followed this route and the rest is history.The health sector like other sectors must be demolished and rebuilt again from the scratch. The political structure is even faulty at first and you wonder why the country is a disgrace.

There have always been round table meetings. These doctors are saboteurs. You need to hear their demands. They destroyed our healthcare system. Even if the govt throws some more money like they do annually, the impact will never be felt. The vampires do not want change. There is massive corruption in our healthcare system

thorpido:
It's a sad situation.The government's provisions in the health sector is poor.The government should do more for its citizens.
There should be punishments for erring health workers too.Some are negligent in their duty.

If you read the doctors write, you will find out that the government has no blame in this.

Cramjones is absolutely right. We are talking of morality vs laws.

What has goverenment's funding of hospital got to do with treating accident victims in critical life and death situation?

The so called doctor will have to deal with consequences of his inaction for the rest of his life.

Boss13:


There have always been round table meetings. These doctors are saboteurs. You need to hear their demands. They destroyed our healthcare system. Even if the govt throws some more money like they do annually, the impact will never be felt. The vampires do not want change. There is massive corruption in our healthcare system

Do not worry,Nigerians are delusional beings.When the time comes we will come back to our senses. They think just throwing monies at the health sector will lead to performance.when countries like seirraleone and Rwanda both whom have fought civil wars would have one of the best health care in Africa within the next 30years then they will rewind their brains.
History repeats itself.Untill we revert back to the health policies prior to the prof beko ransom kuti era who because of his greed and selfishness destroy the health sector then the health sector will continue to be in shambles.

jusRadical:



If you read the doctors write, you will find out that the government has no blame in this.

Cramjones is absolutely right. We are talking of morality vs laws.

What has goverenment's funding of hospital got to do with treating accident victims in critical life and death situation?

The so called doctor will have to deal with consequences of his inaction for the rest of his life.

From the write-up,you can say this was negligence.Nevertheless,the facilities available affect services in hospitals.

thorpido:
From the write-up,you can say this was negligence.Nevertheless,the facilities available affect services in hospitals.

I agree with you that we have poor facilities generally.

Was discussing the issue with my friend (who is also a medical doctor) this afternoon, and he shared the same sentiments with the Op. Which was actually my thoughts yesterday too.

He even added that should there be an inquiry into the events leading up to the death of the accident victim(s) at the hospital, the guy risk losing his licence.

And the silly doctor yesterday when someone called him out for his negligence said the commenter probably wanted to be a medical doctor but failed at med school reason why the dude was attacking him.

I don't enjoy cussing, but i actually swore God should punish him wherever he was typing that crap.

Should an House Officer be the first or even second on call in Accident and Emergency Unit? House officers are always confused when they see dying patient; talking from experience. DEFRIBILLATOR? Lol... All the years i spent in OAUTHC, I didnt set my eyes on one; even in A/E and Theatre. If a patient should drop, thats d end.

Just read the op.

You can imagine the incompetence of that house officer. The first thing he did was to run across the street to buy airtime to make calls! He doesn't even trust his ability as a quack medical doctor to save a life: stop a bleeding, suzture some dangerous cuts, administer first aid; he ran around to make calls!

Cosmatika, the blood if those you murdered will continue to tomment you! You will never know peace in this your medical career! You will never pass any of your residency exams! You will remain a junior medical officer till depression forces you out of that field!

Murderer! Killer! Imagine blaming govt policies when hospital emergency units are run to save lives first!

You will know no peace!!!

I'm narrowing my search on the quack. He is from abia and schooled in abia state university teaching hospital.
He is doing his housemanship at the abia state specialist hospital, aba road, umuahia (which is why he was quick to refer patience to the FMC, which is directly opposite the accursed specialist hospital).

I will place some calls tomorrow morning; my friend is a consultant at FMC, umuahia. My ex is a nurse at the specialist hospital umuahia. I will confirm if fatal accident victims were brought to their hospitals and then try and narrow down the stupid doctors on duty.

I seriously doubt that person is a doctor.

seems like another fake thread opened for whatever reason.

and as usual, nlers want to run with the story, probably they are trying to kill a particular doctor somewhere.

Hmm, which is one of the reasons people should show restraint when it comes to making posts on social media. The doctor was expressing his/her frustration working in a situation he/she was handicapped and then cramjones comes along to sue his ass.

Such is life. I am not in any way supporting either party but what does your lawsuit hope to achieve? If I remember, the house officer remains in training and is technically supposed to administer care under supervision of more experienced physicians. The fundamental question is why was he manning the accident and emergency ward all alone?

Secondly, what sort of policies are in place at the particular hospital? Hospitals usually have an emergency stock of iv fluids and other items that could be deployed in an emergency to save patients. In theory, clients/relatives are supposed to pay for these items before discharge but in practice, what does the doctor do when they say they have no money? He writes it off...but then this is not sustainable so there comes a time when the emergency stock pile is exhausted and when emergency situations arise, patients and relatives must procure these items before they are available. This is the harsh reality.

Another harsh reality is that if you do become involved in a car crash, the frsc and/or police whisk you to the emergency room of a government hospital and drop you off. You need iv fluids, blood transfusion, maybe a CT scan and some orthopedic procedure- who pays for all of this? What happens when relatives don't show up? What happens if they show up but can't afford it? Should the hospital choke up the bill or the government? This happens a lot more than you think, certainly daily or weekly at some hospitals...

The basic issue is that the healthcare system has failed and continues to fail for many reasons. Universal health care coverage remains an illusion, the government cannot afford to build world class hospitals and staff them. It also struggles to pay the few healthcare workers it employs; the quality of education is also falling by the minute.

Summary, feel free to sue but before you do, get a good grasp of the situation and redirect your energy appropriately. You probably don't have a clue as to the conditions some of these healthcare workers have to work under.

bigerboy200:
That ''Doctor'' and his superiors he was calling should face a disciplinary panel...shikena.

I completely agree... The doctor must have composed that article out of ignorance.
The first duty of a medical doctor is to save a life. Even basic first aid may have helped the patient. Money comes after you resuscitate and planning to admit the patient. In an emergency situation, you make use of what is available and if relatives are there, I am sure they do go the extra mile to get other needed items. Nurses and other care professionals usually cooperate when it comes to emergency. There is no reasonable nurse or matron that will demand for deposit before resuscitation (except in private hospitals). The doctor can be pardoned, he perhaps just started and was told the usual of interns are not liable or cannot make decisions.

simplex2:
I'm narrowing my search on the quack. He is from abia and schooled in abia state university teaching hospital.
He is doing his housemanship at the abia state specialist hospital, aba road, umuahia (which is why he was quick to refer patience to the FMC, which is directly opposite the accursed specialist hospital).

I will place some calls tomorrow morning; my friend is a consultant at FMC, umuahia. My ex is a nurse at the specialist hospital umuahia. I will confirm if fatal accident victims were brought to their hospitals and then try and narrow down the stupid doctors on duty.

Hmm. Good.
This should serve as lesson to others. You don't just go on social media to post rubbish. I was flabbergasted when I saw the "doctor's" post.

lokoloko84:
If you liked,spend 1trillion dollars yearly on the health sector the same incompetency and decay will continue.
Untill,there is inclusiveness to take care of all interest groups within the health sector in terms of policy formulation and professionalism with strong focus on specializations at the primary, secondary and tertiary levels, then this sector is going nowhere,no matter the so called funding and renumeration. Infact,this is the major reason with litigations are why some countries have a robust system.Equipping and giving bogus salaries is just a lazy way of thinking and not the real solution.

True. Everyone feels he or she is being paid very little, this applies to all professions, and not just the healthcare sector. Even in advanced countries, doctors complain of poor remuneration, but that doesn't mean they would neglect their duty in saving a life. Like I mentioned in the original thread before this rejoinder. A cleaner in that hospital trained in first aid/AED and CPR could have saved a life of some of the victims.