FCT: Mpape, Mabushi health centres in sorry state
Primary health care is very vital in making quality health care services available and accessible to the people. Thus, functional Primary Healthcare Centres (PHCs) in every community go a long way in achieving this especially for rural dwellers. However, till date PHCs in the country are struggling to achieve these objectives.
This reporter assessed the state of healthcare service delivery in three communities in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). They are Mpape, Mabushi and Sabon Lugbe. These communities are characterised by dense population, unplanned housing, dearth of social amenities and overstretched facilities. There is also shortage or lack of health facilities in these communities.
The ante-natal clinic at the Primary Healthcare Centre in Mpape community holds on Wednesdays and pregnant women leave their homes as early as 6:00am, just to get seats which are usually few there.
Daily Trust findings revealed that the women wait long hours to access the services and also witness hostility from some of the staff at the centre from time to time.
“I have been here since 6 O’clock. It is 12 O’clock and I am still waiting, very soon the nurses will start shouting at us,” a pregnant woman told this reporter during a visit there.
When the reporter visited the Primary Healthcare Centre at Mabushi, she observed dilapidated buildings, no patient and absence of activity there. Two nurses sat fiddling with their mobile phones.
There is a local food joint behind the health centre, while residents spread clothes and locust beans in front of the facility, thereby worsening the already polluted environment.
“The clinic needs to be upgraded. It is small and has no toilet and bathroom and drugs. Nurses are always around but I have never seen any doctor in the clinic. People prefer private hospitals because the clinic closes at 3:00pm,” Kande Habakkuk, a resident of the area said.
Mrs. Abbey, another resident, said that the nurses were trying but could do more with essential equipment and government support.
Daily Trust observed that the patent medicine shops scattered all over the community enjoyed more patronage than the primary health care centre because of its state.
According to a farmer in Mpape, Malam Abudullahi Umar, many people rely on drug sellers for diagnoses of ailment and drug prescription. “The only hospital in Mpape is the one at Masafa, we have many drug stores here. Whenever I have health challenge, I go to the ‘chemist’ and explain my condition and get drugs.”
Aliyu Mohamed, a resident of Anguwan Rimi area, Mpape, said most times the PHC doesn’t have drugs, and residents rely on patent medicine stores to solve their health problems.
Maryam Abdullahi, another resident, also believes that the primary health centres are not reliable. She said she relies on herbal mixtures she buys from the market or makes herself from plants growing around her.
The District Head of Mpape, Alhaji Abudullahi Ibrahim Gimba, wants the government to do more on health.
He said: “We lack facilities and equipment at our health centre. What you see there was provided by the community and some non-governmental organisations.”
The patron of Patent Medicine Dealers and Igbo community chairman in Mabushi, Prince Ene Celestine, described the healthcare centre as small, saying it was youth corps members who renovated it when it got damaged.
He said the clinic usually has no drugs and the staff are always reluctant to come to work. “We need doctors to diagnose and prescribe drugs for patients. People living here mention drugs they want to buy, without prescription or understanding the implication of using such drugs.”
The primary healthcare centre popularly called ‘AMAC Clinic,’ at Sabon Lugbe differed from the other two in healthcare service delivery.
When Daily Trust visited there at about 10:30 am on Saturday, women who attended antenatal had already accessed care and were seen happily leaving the clinic.
However, the primary healthcare centre which was constructed under the chairmanship of Zephaniah B. Jisalo in 2013, and renovated in 2014 by the Nigerian Urban Reproductive Health Initiative (NURHI) faces some challenges, especially in the areas of trained healthcare personnel and drugs.
A patient said that they usually purchased drugs for their treatment after consultation there.
One of the healthcare personnel at the centre, who pleaded anonymity, said more support from the government will guarantee improved service delivery to the people.
The Gomo of Kuje, Alhaji Haruna Tanko, said the healthcare facilities in the community were bad and they go as far as Gwagwalada to access health care services.
The Gomo, who spoke through his secretary, Malam Abubakar D. Bako, narrated how his daughter almost lost her life to pile, saying he had to rush her to Gwagwalada for treatment because the primary health centres in their community lacks equipment and power supply.
According to Seye Abimbola, a health systems strengthening project manager and research fellow at the National Primary Health Care Development Agency, Abuja, most rural people have not been exposed to high quality health services so they accept whatever they get as the norm, and when they cannot put up with low quality services, they ignore the PHCs by staying at home. They also consult quacks, and only go to the PHC or other hospital in emergency, often when it was too late for life-saving interventions.
The health expert also blamed healthcare givers who sometimes do not uphold the standards and ethics of their profession. “Health workers in Nigeria, as in many other countries, rather than police themselves, are more likely to protect their colleagues from complaints of negligence and malpractice that may lead to litigation. In a situation where people are not empowered to detect poor quality, speak up and fight, there is need for the health system to fill that role on behalf of the people,” he said.
The Executive Secretary of the Federal Capital Territory Primary Health Care Development Board (FCT-PHCDB), Dr Rilwanu Mohammed, said government is working assiduously towards improving the primary health care centres in the FCT.
He said the sum of N420m each which the World Bank in collaboration with the federal government gave to the FCT and states for revitalization of PHCs would be used to construct and equip more PHCs and address shortage of manpower.
He said that funding was the main challenge facing his board, adding “We have not been able to make significant progress because of lack of funds and staff shortage. When you talk to the federal government, they tell you it’s the responsibility of the local government and when you turn to the local government, they tell you there is no fund.”
While commending the FCT minister for approving the construction of 12 fully equipped PHCs in the budget, for the next three years, he said this was part of his commitment towards reviving the primary health system.
He said that the board needs more support to equip, recruit medical personnel, provide potable water and power supply in primary healthcare centres for them to function effectively.