Abuja residents lament poor state of health institutions
The strange disease that is causing swollen legs discovered in Bara village of Kirfi Local Government Area of Bauchi State has spread to four additional local government areas in the state.
Some public secondary and tertiary health care institutions in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) are bedevilled with challenges that affect their quality of service delivery, many residents have lamented.
Findings by our reporters revealed that these challenges include inadequate manpower, poor electronic medical records, overcrowding, poor emergency services and attitude of staff, few or no ambulance services and ineffective national health insurance system.
Others are poor infrastructure, insufficient primary health care facilities, poor attitude of staff and long queues and waiting time, among others.
An Abuja resident who identified himself as Umar said he accessed care at the Wuse District Hospital but always faced the challenge of overcrowding and long queues there.
Umar said he often went to private hospitals whenever he needed urgent medical attention.
He said, “If you want smooth, quick and sharp services whenever you have any health issue, the best place to go is a private hospital.
“The long queues that greet me whenever I go to the Wuse District Hospital often discourage me. Whenever I cannot afford to go to a private clinic, I just patiently wait until it is my turn.”
According to him, whenever he needs to see a doctor he often goes very early, adding, “No matter how early you come, you will always meet a lot of people already on the waiting list.”
He urged the government to employ more doctors, nurses and other clinical staff in public hospitals in Abuja so that they could attend to more people faster.
“It seems they are sometimes overwhelmed with crowd, and if that continues, they may not be able to give their best,” he added.
During a visit to the Wuse District Hospital, our reporter observed that despite the COVID19 pandemic, the hospital is still crowded as patients awaited their turns to see the doctors.
Findings at the Nyanya District Hospital revealed that limited services are being offered. Many patients lamented that they were often referred to the Asokoro District Hospital whenever they needed critical care.
A resident who did not want her name mentioned said the Nyanya District Hospital needed to expand its services and improve on patient-staff relationship.
She lamented that many doctors and nurses at the hospital were very rude to patients.
Daily Trust on Sunday learnt that staff members of the hospital often tell patients that the facility mainly focuses on care for women and children, and therefore, refer other cases to Asokoro District Hospital.
They also say they only admit emergency cases (mostly women and children) for only 24 hours before referring them to other public hospitals.
A female patient said she had a very bad experience when she fell ill two months ago and was rushed to the emergency unit of the hospital.
“Doctors were around but just looking at me and other patients. A lady even collapsed while I was there and they did not do anything. They ignored us and kept walking about.
“After spending 30 minutes there without being attended to, I told my relatives to rush me to a private hospital nearby so that I would not die. I was rushed there and was admitted for three days before I got better,” she narrated.
Another resident said the Nyanya District Hospital could do well with a better ambulance services. She said when her aunt was hospitalised there and later went into a coma, she had a hectic time moving her to another hospital because of lack of ambulance.
At the Maitama District Hospital, Martins Umeh, whose wife was just delivered of a baby, said he enjoyed the services of the hospital, unlike some other public hospitals he had visited in the past.
He said medical personnel attended to patients promptly.
But Mr Lucky, whose wife died some time ago, said he did not have a good experience in the hospital. He said he waited for hours on end when he took his wife’s remains to the hospital’s mortuary.
“We were accessing care in a private hospital at Kado before my wife died and we were asked to bring the corpse here to deposit in the mortuary. I waited for more than six hours before they could attend to me. And they said there was no space. It was really devastating.”
Another patient in the hospital, who identified herself as Grace, said she had been accessing services in the facility for some months and was satisfied with the level of care she received.
“They have capable doctors and other hands,” she said.
She, however, added that services could still be improved at the laboratory, radiological and x-ray sections.
Another patient who craved anonymity said her only challenge in the hospital was the crowds at cash points for payment of services.
“They need to employ more hands to relief people of the stress of standing for hours, just to pay for tests, drugs and other services,” he said.
Mrs Mariam Yahaya, who attends antenatal clinic at the Kuje District Hospital, said there was always a lot of crowd at the antenatal clinic.
She, however, said that to manage the situation, pregnant women had been separated into different groups, adding, “If you are patient you would be attended to in your group during antenatal sessions.”
During visits to the Kubwa General Hospital, our reporter met patients and relatives complaining of poor care at the emergency unit.
They lamented that patients, including babies, had been turned away for lack of spaces, even when they were in very critical conditions and abandoned outside for hours until they got tired and left for private hospitals, even at very late hours.
A woman who identified herself as Biola said that aside the challenges at the emergency unit, she had been given drugs at the pharmacy that were different from what was prescribed by doctors. She also said she often faced hardship during payment for services as a result of network disruptions in the electronic system.
Mr Julius Omana, another resident, said the mention of Asokoro District Hospital evoked painful memories in him. He lost
During visits to the Kubwa General Hospital, our reporter met patients and relatives complaining of poor care at the emergency unit. They lamented that patients, including babies, had been turned away for lack of spaces, even when they were in very critical conditions and abandoned outside for hours until they got tired and left for private hospitals, even at very late hours.
his wife there two years.
He said his pregnant wife complained of pains when she was admitted but was ignored by the nurses until she died.
However, an outpatient in the hospital told our reporter that he had been accessing health care there without any problem.
During a visit to the hospital, our reporter observed that social distancing was not strictly enforced in some units that had a large number of people in attendance.
Also, mortuary facilities are overstretched in some of the hospitals, including the tertiary hospital in Gwagwalada. According to residents, the regular response from mortuary attendants is: “There is no space.”
Some residents said that sometimes preferential treatments were given while depositing corpses.
A man who did not want his name mentioned said he lost his brother few weeks ago and had to go to the University of Abuja
Teaching Hospital (UATH) to deposit the corpse, but he was told there was no space.
He also claimed that when he was still there trying to figure out what to do, another group of people brought the remains of their loved one and the corpse was collected and space given to it.
“What I know is that if it is a big man there will be space, but for poor people, there may not be space in the mortuary,” he said.
But the chairman, Medical Adversary Committee and director of clinical services, UATH, Dr Nicholas Baamlong, said it was not true that the hospital gives any preferential treatment to any particular people for mortuary services, adding, “It is just people’s perception.”
He said the challenges facing the hospital in the area of mortuary was space, adding that the cold room could only accommodate 50 corpses at a time, and that is why the remaining corpses have to be laid on the ground.
“As a result of the space, we encourage relatives not to keep the corpse for too long in the mortuary before removing them for burial,” he added.
Dr Baamlong also said the hospital was running smoothly and didn’t keep people for too long before they were seen by doctors.
“There are personnel attending to patients in every unit. It is only at the emergency session that we record high numbers, and the hospital built an extension; but unfortunately had to give that space up for COVID-19 cases.
“But as soon as the COVID-19 centre is completed, there will be enough space for the emergency unit to operate,” he said.
He also said manpower was not enough in all the clinical units, but added that before the hospital employed personnel, due protocol must be followed and approval sought from relevant authorities.
He said COVID-19 affected manpower too as some health workers who test positive have to go on quarantine, and that puts pressure on other staff.
Responding, the acting General Manager, Hospitals Management Board, Dr Francis Alu, said the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) hospitals offered quality services, and that is why they are crowded.
He said patients came from far and near to access care in such health facilities because of the quality of services, especially when compared to other states.
“The crowds people are complaining about is a recognition of what we are doing well. The services we are offering in our hospitals are of the highest quality and are affordable as well. If we were not doing the right things people would not come to our facilities,’’ he said.
Dr Alu, however, acknowledged that COVID19 had impacted negatively on the staff strength of the health facilities, explaining that as frontline workers, most of them have been infected at one point or another and have had to isolate and get treated.
“We have not operated at full staff strength under the COVID19 pandemic, but that is not by our making. Remember that doctors and nurses are also human beings, and some of them have contracted the virus at one point or another and they have had to isolate and get treated. And when that happens, we no longer have the staff strength to attend to patients the way they want. But we are doing our best to ensure that we continue offering the best services,’’ he added.
He assured that when Utako and other district hospitals come on stream, the burden on the existing ones would be lifted and crowds would greatly reduce.
On the issue of morgues getting filled up, he advised residents to always bury their dead on time, saying a situation where corpses are left in the morgues for three months or more was responsible for the problem of lack of spaces.
The crowds people are complaining about is a recognition of what we are doing well. The services we are offering in our hospitals are of the highest quality and are affordable as well. If we were not doing the right things people would not come to our facilities
The Executive Chairman of the Bauchi State Primary Health Care Development Agency (BASPHCDA), Dr Rilwanu Mohammed, who disclosed this to Daily Trust on Sunday during an interview Thursday, said that since the discovery of the illnesses in Bara, “We took the first six samples and later got additional five samples four days ago and taken for investigation at one of the standard laboratories in Anambra State. We asked our Disease Surveillance Officers in all the LGAs and World Health Organization (WHO) officials to check whether the same sign and symptoms of the ulcer is found in other local government areas.
"We discovered four local government areas with suspected cases of the disease to include Tafawa Balewa, Itas Gadau, Zaki and Ganawa LGAs. We have taken samples from the patients, and I was made to know that it has to go eight weeks for culture to confirm the kind of disease.”
Mohammed said the community in Bara is suspecting cancer of the skin and bones but it is a chronic ulcer that affects the bone and the skin though it has not been ascertained. "One thing for sure we have to link-up with the tuberculosis Control Agency in the state because people should know that since they are in the family of mycobacterium Tuberculosis, mycobacteria lebron and mycobacterium ulcer which causes Buruli ulcer and when the results return as Buruli ulcer, then it is a stubborn infection that can kill the patient.”
Mohammed said the Bauchi State government is seriously working and had since dispatched teams of experts to all the affected areas, adding, "The cause of the disease is not yet known but since it is suspected to be a family of tuberculosis, we have started looking for tuberculosis in the laboratory in the affected communities. Our search in the affected communities is to check those that have tuberculosis or persistent cough for more than two weeks and those that have sign and symptoms of leprosy like deformity in the hands, eyes to be able to check and know the cause.
"In the mean time, our focus is to determine the cause of the illness and by the time we confirm it is Buruli ulcer, the treatment will be different which will include tuberculosis drugs, antibiotics and dressing while some of the victims will require skin grafting because the wound has eaten up to the bones, and the ulcer takes two to three years.”
He further reveals that the disease can cripple businesses and farming activities because the ulcer cannot allow the people to go for their day-to-day activities.
On the issue of death, Mohammed explained that the agency is not aware of deaths but preliminary findings indicate that the disease had been in the community for more than three years.
"We want to appeal to residents of the state where they have persistent ulcer on the leg or any part of the body to report to the nearest Primary Healthcare Centre (PHC) or agency for urgent investigation so that they get treated because this illness is quite a strange one which is not known yet but it has been in the community for long and they didn't know that government can do something about,” Mohammed said.
One of the affected victims, 14-yearold Saleh Ali Gambo, who’s been battling with the illness for two years, narrates his ordeals. "I’ve been going through a terrible experience because sometimes I spend three days without sleeping because of the excruciating pain and high fever. My parents have tried their best by taking me to the hospital in both Alkaleri town and Gombe Specialist Hospital.”
Gambo said, “It started with swelling on my leg two years ago. At the beginning, the pain was not much but later, the skin on my knee broke open, making the pain to increase. The pain continued in both the tissues and bone to the stage where I couldn't stand or walk with my legs. At a point, pus and blood were coming out from the affected area. I was admitted at the hospital and treated but the wound refused to heal. The wound defied all manner of treatment in all the hospitals we visited.
“My worry is the pain I am going through, especially when it induces high fever. My parents have now subscribed to traditional medicine which is reducing the pain and swelling,” Garba said.
On his part, 20-year-old Muhammed Yakubu, who is also battling with the illness, told Daily Trust on Sunday that his major challenge apart from the pain was the stigma from his fellow youth, especially friends in Bara village who stigmatize him for smelling. “All my friends and some of my relatives run away from me saying I smell because of pus from the wound. This illness started two years ago. It was my elder brother that first got infected.
“The situation forced me out of school and sometimes I spend the whole day in my room due to the stigma but my parents give me hope and insist that I should not be worried, that the wound will soon heal.
“My father has exhausted his money in different hospitals on medical bills and drugs to treat the wound. We opted for traditional medicine and through God’s intervention the wound has started drying up,” Yakubu said.
Another 20-year-old, Mohammed Murtala, whose father is also affected by the illness, gave his own account. “My own started after falling down in a football field and sustaining injuries. After I recovered from the injuries, my leg got swollen and later pus started coming out amidst severe pain. I was taken to hospital where I was placed on drugs and daily dressing for almost two weeks and luckily the wound dried off unlike my father who is still battling with the wound."
However, 67-year-old Murtala Sakinyaki, who underwent surgery due to the wound, but is still battling with the disease, told Daily Trust on Sunday that he lost his younger brother to the strange illness.
He said, “The illness started last year January when my leg got swollen and later burst open with pus gushing out for sometime, a situation that almost destroyed my leg. A doctor in our village took me to the specialist hospital in Gombe where they carried out surgery and removed the rotten part of my leg.
“After the surgery, I was on daily dressing and drugs for over three months. Later, I was advised to stop the dressing. Despite the surgery, drugs and dressing, the wound has refused to heal for over eight months, we don't know the cure for this ulcer.
“We are appealing to the state government to come to our aid so as to know exactly what is causing this disease and find solutions to the illness before it becomes a serious disaster. My son also got infected on his knees but his has dried up.”
The village head of Unguwar Madaki, Malam Garba Madaki, told Daily Trust on Sunday that the disease has been in the community for over 10 years.
“This illness has become a source of concern for the community because it has killed many people. It starts from swelling on the leg and later penetrates the whole body. By the time it affects the stomach of the patient, the victim dies within some days.
“We are yet to receive any intervention from authorities except last week when officials from the ministry of health took some samples and left.
"We are appealing to the state government to urgently take necessary action to prevent the rest of the people from being infected because this illness is very stubborn and defies all manner of treatment," Madaki said.