iambabaG:
Dis is just a view of one nurse out of how many.. In vs much as u av sounded some salient points; most of us can attest 2 d ill manner of most medical practitioners!!
There is really very little d government can do in d present difficult times. Dats y "whitch hunt" or whatever u call it is needed 2 recoup stolen money back 2 help us fix dis problem.

Very little government can do?? Let's not deceive ourselves, our politicians and political office holders fly out of the country for medical treatment for any little medical ailment leaving the rest of us to bear the brunt. And the cost of medical treatment is borne by who? The Nigerian taxpayers! Let there be a law whereby every political office holder is forced to seek medical treatment here at home and you will see the speed at which the hospitals will develop. They don't have money to develop health care but they have tens of thousands of dollars of tx payers money to spend outside another person's country.

saddens me every time i hear such news..."Most of the deaths and disabilities attributable to childbirth are avoidable because the medical solutions are well known,the challenge that remains is therefore not technological but strategic and organisational" (alvarez et al, 2009). we really have a long way to go and may posterity judge us well in the end-that we did all we could at all times
as one involved in providing emergency care, I'll discuss some factors we need to be aware of
1. Where did the woman register for her ANC care? if she registered there, then they have all obligation to attend to her once in labour. if not- when it is an emergency she ought to be referred to a specialist hospital due to late presentation and associated maybe unknown negative history such as hypertension etc.
2. Was the ANC care provided adequate and was she educated on the signs of labour and the need for early presentation once she has seen her show or noticed increase in contractions painful or not. then how many ANC sessions did she attend?
3. Our training for nurses and midwives needs to instil confidence in them as to recognise and manage post Partum Haemorrhage.(bleeding after childbirth). we see nurses and midwives that scream "DOCTOR OO" once they see the excessive bleeding and also our young doctors need to simply follow the pathway of management.
4. we all agree that our health facilities are derelict and deficient, but with what we have, some deaths are not justifiable please.

FINALLY
for prospective parents,
once your wife takes in.
1. begin to save monthly towards the childbirth ( as little as 5k or 10k monthly)
2. go on a hospital research- find the one closest to your residence that offers the following
a. specialist care- the ANC is run by a O and G consultant.
b. here is always a doctor on call at night.
c. they have a functional theatre
d. have a track record of safe deliveries - shows nurses and midwives are doing well (maybe)
3. be vigilant for warning signs of labor as at the 8th - 9th month
4. have transport ready especially within the 8th and 9th month
5. keep some cash at home within this period also- so if you ned to deposit any sum- you are able to do so even if in part.

maternal mortality is preventable guys!

Serious!
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chrisbaba1:
If a man or woman is about to die, you are meant to do something not caring about the money, at least revive the patient to a point. I think staring at a patient who is half dead and doing nothing when you have the ability to do something is very heartless.

Revive with what? Lol... You think its with bare hands people are revived. Or you think all drugs should be free. If there's no food in your house and someone comes hungry and asking for food at midnight, what would you do? Take your blame to the policy makers and those who should finance the system. Healthcare is better abroad, why? Is it because the health workers are more competent and dedicated? Not necessarily. Effective working systems are put in place to make the work possible

olrotimi:
Let me weigh into the discussion.
Firstly, Op you have spoken well and have spoken our mind. The state of health care in Nigeria is appalling to say the least. Lemme give my experience :
During my service year, I was the only doctor covering a general hospital in Ebonyi state and also the only health professional who 'sleeps -in'. After over working myself with the out patients, probably had one or two surgeries, I'd then be faced with call duty which is another story entirely. I play the role of doctor, nurse, pharmacist and oftentimes, health records. Oftentimes I get woken up at midnight by a woman in labour. With no nurse or midwife to assist me, I have to do what I have to do, as if I turn them away, they would end up with untrained traditional birth attendants. I have conducted countless deliveries including daring ones (twin gestations, breech, and placenta previa) sometimes with just one forceps and one scissors and just a head lamp. Ethically, this is wrong, but does my patient understand ethics, These I did 24/7 for a year and I was paid for just two months.
Bottom line is this : No one appreciates the circumstances we have to work under, ofcus we don't need your sympathy, but be guided by your glib talk and vituperations (like the poster above) cos many of you have inherent disdain for health professionals and nothing we say here would change it.

shutting down less equipped health centres is never an option. We're still far behind in health adequacy

There is need for couples to put aside emergency money during pregnancy, most times you will see men running helter skelter when their wife is in labour, also most of these big hospitals don't have doctors it's mostly consultants our teaching hospitals and fmcs remains the best despite their constant strike. Generally in these country people don't go for test, early detection of most ailment solves the issue of it going into an emergency stage except in the case of accidents and gun shot wounds.

delishpot:
Then they should close those akara hospitals. No equipment, no doctor on call, no nurses on duty, No ambulance, No driver on seat, no gen, No keys to pharmacy, No pharmacist on seat, no nothing all they have is the buildings and a staff to give the list of things they dont have when a patient comes in.
Those Akara hospitals should not be allowed to addmit patients or run maternity/Emergency wards and they should be told to close at 5 or 6 pm everyday so every one knows they are not available for work. They should just be clinics to treat cough and cartarh and n9thing more.
If a so called hospital cannot respond to patients and give some form of care while they arrange for the transfer of the patient to a bigger hospital then they should not be allowed to run as a full blown hospital.
Shame on Nigerian government through the years. They should put laws in place that will regulate hospitals
They should be categorized and given licence and operational time based on equipments, number of staff and qualification or experience on doctors and nurses on duty. Enough of the bloodshed. I dey vex o. My blood dey boil.
BTW when will govt step ip health insurance for Nigerians?

Those "Akara" hospitals may be operated or owned by a doctor who works in a general hospital. Its high time FG compels them to close up those "akara" hospital and face their work in the general hospital or face their "akara" hospital. Always so indifferent to human issues.

free2blast:
I wonder if "HOSPITAL POLICY" would also apply if it were a family member of the nurse that needs emmergency attention? The fact remains that most nurses are mean and lazy.

My thoughts Exactly! It's Pathetic how lives is lost on daily basis due to all this silly negligence. No bed, no doctor, no nurse, no money bla bla. Life to this people is worth nothing I swear

teamchocolate:
With ur perspective 95% of hospitals in Nigeria will be shut down and that 95 % is putting it mildly
Govt needs to heavily invest in health care and human resources for health

Who said anything about shutting them up? I only said they should be graded and not allowed some certain things. Yes! If you cant have access to helping women transfer to a better hospital during the course of labour should any emergency situation, that hospital should not be allowed to run a maternity ward. Why run a hospital when in reality it is a death trap? Hospitals at least private ones are investments to some people. If the government does what I said, before granting what grade license a hospital gets believe me those opening hospitals will do everything to meet up to standard. It is the way it is now because they are not controlled and it is basically an anything goes trade for now.
And yes, the government shiuld do better at equiping the state owned hospital too. Abeg where is Buhari? Who is advicing him? He should make me his PA

richyfunky:
Nigerian Nurses & Doctors can be cruel & heartless, when a case is life threatening, you do everything to save that life cos that's shud be ur No.1 priority instead of giving excuses. LIFE NO GET DUPLICATE

May your kids become nurses and doctors... Lol, I will wait to see if ur opinion changes then. Talk is easy

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zed7:
If you guys have no doctors or inadequate personnel then please close the hospital.
It's not an excuse you are giving. The duty of every medical personnel is to save life. Imagine how silly you are to say what you have said and called it a defence.
Haven't you met doctors who try to save accident victims even when they do not have their kits with them? They use whatever is available and make an attempt. No matter the situation, the medical personnel should make an attempt to help, reassure the patient and kindly refer them somewhere else.
This is not usually the case as our Nigerian nurses and doctors are arrogant and treat you like thrash.
Like the Nigerian society, you are only treated with respect if you have money.
Mr/Madam nurse, you excuse or defense is lame. The family of the man should have lynched you also. You people's attitude and not lack of facilities caused the man's death.

You are unjustifiably harsh at the OPs true state of happenings and your last paragraph is completely uncalled for.Its like saying since soldiers have signed up for the call,regardless they are ill-equiped they should proceed to boko harm base and confront them.Childish reasoning !!!.

What Do you expect a nurse on duty to do with a new patient while he was busy with another patient in labor? It's called priority.Besides the fact there were only two nurses on duty...in a general hospital where there should be at least 4 per ward...inclusive of intern. And only one doctor on duty... Who might also be an intern.

In health related issues..you just don't " use anything " to handle procedures. Healthcare workers using kerosene lantern while suturing or handling an invasive procedure itself is a health risk.No matter how skilled you are.chances of infection and cross Infection is high. Besides you could land yourself with a medico legal hazard Instances.

The Nigerian health sector needs complete overhauling

@ Op thank you for the post and the poster of that article of the last meeting held by UNGOSA.

horlus:
I appreciate your write up but in some cases it's also negligence and carelessness from doctors. I lost my son few weeks ago after being born 4days later to jaundice. Despite the fact my wife kept alerting them that she has an history with jaundice from the theater where she had a casseran procedure. It's a story I don't want to start writing about right now but the child should not be dead if not for carelessness from the hospital doctors. Everyone keeps telling me to sue the hospital I v just decided to let go.

so sorry for your loss but that doesnt mean the hospital is to blame. look, the mere fact they knew your baby had jaundice doesnt mean they must be able to save your baby unless you tell us what they were supposed to do that they didnt do. it may interest you to know that we dont have any level 3 NICU in nigeria where we can take care of extremely sick babies. no faacilities for ECMO, HFOV etc. so even if your baby is seriously sick and i know your baby needs any of these, i cant help cos we dont have such facilities. moreso, jaundice from what? is your wife O NEGATIVE? was the jauncice physiological or was it as a result of infection or even congenital problem ? i am not standing in for them but the mere fact they knew your baby had jaundice does not mean they must be able to save your baby. people still die even in the best setting despite advanced medical procedures. my intention is to set up a level 3 NICU in nigeria with facilties for ECMO but even in such centres the minimum deposit will still be like 500,000 naira only. i need close to 500milliion to set it up and to maintain is very expensive. i am presently studying neonatal medicine at cardiff and my total school fees when i finish this post graduate program will be about 15million in 2yrs. so, it will still be impossible for me to help the very sick children of poor people even after setting it up so if you bring your sick baby in emergency without deposit i wont admit you and that doesnt mean i am wicked.

richyfunky:
Nigerian Nurses & Doctors can be cruel & heartless, when a case is life threatening, you do everything to save that life cos that's shud be ur No.1 priority instead of giving excuses. LIFE NO GET DUPLICATE

You may as well sell yourself into perpetually slavery and donate your value worth to help others. That is the life of servitude doctors live.
Our medical personnels are not that heartless as you try to depict. But how many patient can you offered to treat for free in just a day before you go bankrupt?
You must have think equipments and other expendable medical facilities used in attending to patient are plug from trees.

I can totally relate. I have served in a hospital in the northern part of the country, a large secondary health center that caters for referrals from 7 LGAs from within and the neighbouring stated. And guess what? There was just 4 doctors catering for a 150-bed hospital, that runs emergency, theatre and outpatient services. I had to wake up to see at least 30 patients on an early morning wardround, thereafter go to the OPD to see between another 100-120 patients on the average everyday. Now tell me how you expect someone not to suffer from mental exhaustion, bearing in mind that you are dealing with human lives. I don't even want to go into the details of the pathetic state of facilities on ground

richyfunky:
Nigerian Nurses & Doctors can be cruel & heartless, when a case is life threatening, you do everything to save that life cos that's shud be ur No.1 priority instead of giving excuses. LIFE NO GET DUPLICATE

u r an idi.ot. Doctors should do anything and everything to save lives cos that should be priority and yet you come to hospital empty handed. Even private hospitals in developed climes don't treat patients free of charge. U seriously lack comprehension. Y not go to an eatery, eat to ur satisfaction and not pay. Tell them they are saving life and see what happens to you. You kn there can be life threatening conditions, yet u play with ur life. Nonsense.

I appreciate this thread op.
You have stated your angle and not
that of other nurses and doctors

But here are my reservations.

Any hospital at this age that does not have
a Dr to cover at night is no hospital and should
go into oblivion

How can one tell me that it is only between 8am -
4pm that ill health comes. I'll health and emergencies are round the clock and the
hospital management know this

What I have discovered is that most Drs in govt
owned hospitals have private clinics and would
prefer to spend more of their time in their clinics
than to be on duty at their place of primary assignment.

This alone has caused the loss of many lives because
there is no Dr in the hospital to attend to patients.

I also noticed that the death of patients is no longer
a big deal to hospital staff and that is why it is money
first before anything else.

So sad,
The nurses are not spared either, even with stringent hospital policies, many of our nurses have become so
heartless that besides the manner they talk to sick patients but also their non challant attitude to work.

There are situations were a woman in labour is allowed to suffer because the nurses want to catch some sleep.

Enuf said about the Drs and nurses.

The government should carry more of the blame.
What is the government doing to protect life and property?
Protection of life is tied greatly to adequate and timely health care.

For example, if accidents happen on the roads, no matter how fatal it is the victims will be laid on the road at most for people to sympathise with and take pictures for a long time . Waiting for who?
Many People have lost their lives this way.

What if phone numbers to well trained emergency units in every ward or district is placed everywhere and given to Road and transport unions to call when emergencies like accidents happen. So many lives would have been saved.

The government is not caring with respect to emergencies so also are the staff put in place. Why should hospitals be short staffed? Very crazy!

They are simply clueless about moving the health sector forward. This is also sad

I pray that any one of us or members of our families will not fall into the hands of this clueless people IJN

God bless you all and our dear nation Nigeria

nkemdi89:
There is need for couples to put aside emergency money during pregnancy, most times you will see men running helter skelter when their wife is in labour, also most of these big hospitals don't have doctors it's mostly consultants our teaching hospitals and fmcs remains the best despite their constant strike. Generally in these country people don't go for test, early detection of most ailment solves the issue of it going into an emergency stage except in the case of accidents and gun shot wounds.

If men learn d harbit of saving no matter how small, their won't be running helter skelter when money is needed

richyfunky:
Nigerian Nurses & Doctors can be cruel & heartless, when a case is life threatening, you do everything to save that life cos that's shud be ur No.1 priority instead of giving excuses. LIFE NO GET DUPLICATE

very right...but how many lives can they save before there on sef enter comma. There are issues on ground if it's not sorted situations like this will keep repeating itself. N.a. teeth dem go use save lives. Or make them use thier salary save lives finish? Or make them carry patient on dem head when dem refer? We are in Nigeria peeps , let's face reality

Cutehector:
Mchew.. Nonsense... So u people value rules more dan human life.. God will punish all of you on d last day.. Was it not Jesus who healed a soul on d sabath? And wen confronted by the Jews, he told dem a life is more important dan the sabath...

You missed the point completely!!!! I think you need to reread.

Onyiido:
Those "Akara" hospitals may be operated or owned by a doctor who works in a general hospital. Its high time FG compels them to close up those "akara" hospital and face their work in the general hospital or face their "akara" hospital. Always so indifferent to human issues.

Very true. They should be regulated. If they dont have certain instrunments,certain number of staff, certain number of ambulances, certain mode of power generating set(which shouldnt be an issue on this list if the govt of naija knows what it is doing, light shouldnt be a problem in naija at this day and age) certain qualification of staff, certain availability of doctors on call etc. Every hospital in naija should be graded and operational certificate given based on their ability to meet certain needs.

Dats stil ok, uve nt seen situations where a Nurse is covering surgical, orthopedic and A & E together, wt notin less than 40 inward patients. She collapsed one day in the ward nd alarm was raised by pts she's suppose to b caring for. Nigerian health sector is rily in shambles, I knw of a state hosp. wt only 3drs nd 5 Nurses. Am also a Nurse.

Jackeeh:
Just 2 nurses on duty,covering both Labor and emergency wards? For real?

I stopped reading your story where u said he was in distress but Hus condition doesn't seems life threatening. so the fact that he is in distress is not good enough to warrant immediate attention. your case is lost.you are one of them nurses.

delishpot:
Then they should close those akara hospitals. No equipment, no doctor on call, no nurses on duty, No ambulance, No driver on seat, no gen, No keys to pharmacy, No pharmacist on seat, no nothing all they have is the buildings and a staff to give the list of things they dont have when a patient comes in.
Those Akara hospitals should not be allowed to addmit patients or run maternity/Emergency wards and they should be told to close at 5 or 6 pm everyday so every one knows they are not available for work. They should just be clinics to treat cough and cartarh and n9thing more.
If a so called hospital cannot respond to patients and give some form of care while they arrange for the transfer of the patient to a bigger hospital then they should not be allowed to run as a full blown hospital.
Shame on Nigerian government through the years. They should put laws in place that will regulate hospitals
They should be categorized and given licence and operational time based on equipments, number of staff and qualification or experience on doctors and nurses on duty. Enough of the bloodshed. I dey vex o. My blood dey boil.
BTW when will govt step ip health insurance for Nigerians?

true talk dose hospital dat does nt hav adequate. Equipment and staff shld be closed

horlus:
I appreciate your write up but in some cases it's also negligence and carelessness from doctors. I lost my son few weeks ago after being born 4days later to jaundice. Despite the fact my wife kept alerting them that she has an history with jaundice from the theater where she had a casseran procedure. It's a story I don't want to start writing about right now but the child should not be dead if not for carelessness from the hospital doctors. Everyone keeps telling me to sue the hospital I v just decided to let go.

Accept my sympathy, you didn't just lose a baby, you lost dreams, nothing can erase such sorrow! Maybe you should have gotten a friendly doctor or hospital to do the needful since the delivery hospital didn't care to do so.
Sorry

mickey45:


Not just nurses even ne Medical school grads are on their ay out, Most of those I know are onto IELTs immediately after grad.

Nigeria is breeding medical personnel for export.

I also need a way out. Anybody with info on how to export myself too, should let me know. Thanks.

Cutehector:
Mchew.. Nonsense... So u people value rules more dan human life.. God will punish all of you on d last day.. Was it not Jesus who healed a soul on d sabath? And wen confronted by the Jews, he told dem a life is more important dan the sabath...

Unfortunately it doesn't work that way..rules are there to guide them. They don't follow rules. There is more chance of losing thier job which I doubt u can offer another. Meanwhile religion I this issue is sentimental.

horlus:
I appreciate your write up but in some cases it's also negligence and carelessness from doctors. I lost my son few weeks ago after being born 4days later to jaundice. Despite the fact my wife kept alerting them that she has an history with jaundice from the theater where she had a casseran procedure. It's a story I don't want to start writing about right now but the child should not be dead if not for carelessness from the hospital doctors. Everyone keeps telling me to sue the hospital I v just decided to let go.

am very sorry for your loss sir. as a father of 3 i empathise wt u. as an obstetrician, i've read what you and others have written n want to clarify smths.

jaundice will not manifest at birth unless in cases of severe intrauterine hemolysis. it takes at least 24 hours. many causes of neonatal jaundice abound but d commonest is physiologic. despite past history of NNJ, ur baby will only be monitored closely by d neonatologists unless it was a clear case of jaundice wt known cause. prophylactic phototherapy would be commenced but in most centers, phototherapy units are not even rnough for the cases of frank jaundice, smths two babies share one unit. not that d doctors n nurses dnt knw d risks but its better than no phototherapy.

the bane of out job is dt we dnt have time to explain in details to relatives as in other climes. clinical staff are overworked. the nurse said 2 nurses manned night shift and pple were alarmed.

i work in a federal medical center in d east, u nurses man a 12 beded labour ward in d only functional tertiary center in d state during night shift. d whole of labour ward unit have 12 nurses.

please note dt an embargo on unemployment was on since last year and was just lifted. we are understaffed

am sorry for d ones lost. i remember d names and faces of every woman i lost. i cant bring them back. none of us can but hosp staff really work their arses off for their patients. i knw dt sm state facilities have poorly motivated staff due to owed salaries but d federal hosp staff really do their best.

as a corp member in 2007, i was d only doctor in 2 local governments. d only trained nurses n scientists on ground were corp members but we saved lives

for the many saved, we God thanks, for the few we lost, we carry d scars. no doctor, nurse, scientist or pharmacist will want to lose a patient. even DNR (do not resuscitate) patients, even wn d books tell u its useless, we still hang on n pray God.

Our system is in shanbles but its what we have. our university system make doctors, nurses dt can hold their own anywhere. presently, d UK home office has waived many restrictns for nurses from Africa. we will lose more to them.

we really need massive infrastructural investments in our healthcare sector

U say negligence? I witnessed one of Matron 's husband died ryt in front of us in the hosp , no bed, no oxygen I Dont even wanna go deep into dat story. Life to us means somthing to us

goldenruby:
My thoughts Exactly! It's Pathetic how lives is lost on daily basis due to all this silly negligence. No bed, no doctor, no nurse, no money bla bla. Life to this people is worth nothing I swear

if we are to close all 'substandard hospitals' in nigeria, no primary health centre or state general hospital will be open. half of d teaching hospitals n federal medical centers will be closed. even in abuja, how many beds are in asokoro or maitama gen hosp? to serve a populatn of how many people?

Hospitals are not just structures, its d personnel n equipment dt make hospitals

Op, I would have loved to agree with you in all of this except one thing:

Why do hospitals have 24hrs standby ambulances but have only 8am-4pm drivers. Emergencies do not occur at night?
A friend's father died in an hospital at about 1pm on a sunday and they needed ambulance to take the body to a morgue, the hospital said without thought nor remorse:
"Our driver does not work on Sundays"!

How ridiculous! Emergencies do not occur on Sundays?

All these hospitals should just open at 8am and lock up at 4pm, Monday-Friday.

richyfunky:
Nigerian Nurses & Doctors can be cruel & heartless, when a case is life threatening, you do everything to save that life cos that's shud be ur No.1 priority instead of giving excuses. LIFE NO GET DUPLICATE

It's easy to criticize when you're not the one wearing the shoes.