Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State has closed the Government House Clinic and redeployed its medical personnel to public hospitals.
The drugs and equipment in the clinic have also been moved to the Yusuf Dansotho Hospital, Tudun Wada, Kaduna, while Government House staff have been directed to henceforth use the Dansotho Hospital for their medical needs.
Governor El-Rufai in a statement by his Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Samuel Aruwan said the decisions were taken to boost the healthcare system in the state by moving medical personnel, drugs and equipment to public hospitals.
According to the statement, “There are not yet enough doctors in the public health system in Kaduna State, therefore it is not prudent to assign doctors, nurses and other medical staff to serve Government House alone. It is clearly more beneficial to the wider society if the services of these medical personnel were made available to the public in a general hospital.
” In addition, it is better that everyone working in the Government House uses the same health facilities as the general public.”
Dr. Muhammad Bello Armaya’u, Medical Director of Yusuf Dansotho Hospital, confirmed that the hospital has received the drugs and equipment.
He expressed gratitude to the Governor for the move, promising that the hospital will make good use of the extra capacity it has received.
Tag: hospital
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El-Rufai shuts Govt House Clinic, redeploys staff to General Hospitals
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Hospital seeks relocation from rail line
The operators of Daughters of Charity Hospital, Byazhin have urged the federal government to relocate their facility to a new site because of the ongoing rail line construction which has disrupted the hospital’s activities.
Coordinator of the Catholic Church hospital Sister Mary Okoro appealed to the government to keep its promises by giving them the Right of Occupancy (R of O) and Titled Deed Plan (TDP) of the new land.
Okoro appealed to the federal government to give them the compensation that is due to them. She also asked that “all the social responsibilities the minister asked the Chinese construction company to [fulfil] for the hospital should also be done.
“That will give us the opportunity to start developing the new site and also relocate so that they (construction company) will continue their work,” she said.
According to Okoro, “The minister of transport Mr Rotimi Amaechi made it open that the government is going to pay the Hospital N362 million as against N970 million to be used to construct the new hospital.
“He also made promises that he will get the TDP of the new land within one week but up till now, we have not gotten it. Also, the 200KVA generator which the construction company promised to give to us as part of their Corporate Social Responsibility is yet to arrive the hospital premises, rather an old generator is outside the hospital premises” she said
The hospital coordinator lamented that there was no written agreement between the hospital and the federal government, “We had earlier sent messages to the Federal Ministry of Transport and the Chinese company to stop all work until we have come to an agreement but it’s like they have continued their work” while urging that things be written down so as to know who to hold responsible for any damages.
Okoro said that as a hospital offering social service “the government is supposed to relocate us to a safe place before demolition so that they can continue their work but they have not done this and they are pushing in to demolish where people are, there are lives here. You don’t do this type of demolition where sick people are.”
Okoro complained that the Chinese while excavating the ground near the hospital “overtook the parking lot where the patients park, so they have no where to park. The access road being narrowed was almost inaccessible to the hospital and there is so much confusion and stress” adding that no proper barricade was used to indicate the ditch.
This, she said has put lives at risk because patients coming to the hospital at night can drive into the ditch.
On the challenges, she said “all of us here are working under terrible conditions. The space is very limited and uncomfortable. We had about 78 beds but now we have only 30. If you go to the ward you will see that we are putting children on admission, two or three on one bed, sometimes when there are many people, we have no bed to put them. They are lying on the floor, some will not like to go elsewhere. Where patients are seating and waiting are not comfortable.
“It is affecting the convenience of both workers and patients, it has led to great reduction in the amount of money the hospital makes, from 78 beds to 30 beds, so we cannot treat enough patients. There is insecurity in the place now because we don’t know who is coming in because everywhere now seems to be porous.
“The sisters that own the hospital are staying inside containers since 2years because the government pomised us to leave the hospital within two months, they will relocate us and we thought they were honest to their promise, we left the hospital thinking they would do what they promised, up till now we are there, we left our house to be managing the patients because we have no other place to go.”
She also disclosed that the Catholic hospital had secured a court injunction restraining the federal government and the construction company from demolishing the hospital but the minister of transportation, Rotimi Amaechi appealed to them and promised to give N362 million for the construction of the new hospital.
A medical Doctor at the HIV unit of the hospital, Patrick Ezie said “as far as our patients are concerned, this hospital in Kubwa offers top services,” noting that the HIV unit of the hospital was last year rated the best in the country.
“You can imagine how much of a loss it would be for the FCT to loose such a facility and for us to be begging to be relocated is even very sad because where things are done properly, that should be the first thing on the mind of the government to ensure that patients continue their care in a facility that is providing services that government should be providing in the firstplace,” he said.
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Hospital disowns fake gynecologist
A fake gynecologist recently arrested by the police in Ibadan, has been disowned by a hospital she claimed to have worked for.
Dammy Ojo, whose actual name is Miss Damilola Ojo, was reported to have defrauded unsuspecting residents of over N23 million, had told the police that she began her medical and health career as a nurse, with an Oyo-based private health institution, Goodswills Hospital.
But at a media briefing yesterday in Oyo, Ojo’s confession was disclaimed and described as a “wicked lie”. The proprietor of Goodwill Child Welfare Clinic and Maternity Centre, located at Mabolaje area in the ancient town, Raheem Olaniyi, said contrary to claims by Ojo, there was no time the hospital had any Dr. Dammy Ojo in its employ.
According to him, “In January 2013, one Miss Damilola Ojo was employed as a ward maid having presented to the management to have completed a nursing programme at the School of Nursing, Saki. Having regards to the document evidencing her representation, the management of the health institution could not doubt the integrity of the Nursing School.”
Raheem disclosed that Miss Ojo served for only one month, before her service was terminated in February 2013.
He added, “Our health institution was duly registered with the Ministry of Health and bears the name Goodwill Child Welfare Clinic and Maternity Centre and not Goodswills Hospital, as claimed by the criminal suspect.”
He averred that the hospital does not know her as a gynecologist.
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Club donates hospital, school facilities to Ogun community
The District 404-B Governor of International Association of Lions Club, Mrs Idowu Omolola Anobili, has handed over items donated by the Region 7 and 8 of the Club to primary health care centres at Ifo and Ota Ward II Annex.
Apart from the handover of these health centres, she also inaugurated 13 blocks of toilet at St James Primary School, Ota, as well as donation of bakery equipment to graduating students of skills acquisition and empowerment programme sponsored by the Club in Ado-Odo/Ota and Ifo local government areas of Ogun State.
She also visited the skills acquisition centres built by the Club at Ewupe in Ado-Odo/Ota where residents of the areas would receive trainings on different skills.
Mrs Anobili was at these places to perform one of the Club’s yearly programmes, ‘District Governor’s Visitation’, and to fulfill her promises of making life better for the less-privileged in the society during her tenure.
The event featured singing and dancing by residents of the community, especially the patients, expectant mothers in the hospitals, the graduating students and their parents.
Speaking at the events, Mrs Anobili said the gesture was to sustain the humanitarian services which are the priority and mission of the Club.
According to her, Lions Club was established to mobilise and empower volunteers to serve their communities, meet humanitarian needs, encourage peace and promote international understanding. These, she said, have made the Club attain the global leader in community and humanitarian services.
She said the Club has been partnering with the World Health Organisation (WHO) in campaigning against measles and other deadly diseases, donating to hospitals and empowering youths among others were to make life better for the less-privilege and society at large.
Mrs Anobili urges the legitimate members to continue to make the humanitarian services their priority by focusing on a wide variety of service projects that would meet the international goals of the Club as well as the needs of their local communities.
She appealed to them to ensure they deploy their talents to work for the improvement of their communities and the larger society.
The Matron, Primary Health Care Centre, Olose, Ifo, Mrs Comfort Ojodu, who spoke on behalf of others, thanked the Club for the gesture. She also said the gesture would go a long way in enhancing the well-being of the hospitals.
She urged governments, clubs, political stalwarts, corporate organisations and individuals to assist in tackling infrastructure problems facing primary health care centres across the country.
The major problems, she said included equipment, electricity, water, beds and chairs.
She said it’s an awkward situation to use candles or lanterns to assist women when in labour rooms in the hospitals.
She appealed to well-meaning Nigerians to assist in sinking borehole systems, power generating sets and modern technology equipment.
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Monarch urges govt to provide school, hospital
The Oniba of Iba, His Royal Highness (HRH) Oba Goriola Oseni has appealed to Governor Ambode to establish public secondary school and hospital for residents of the community. The monarch made the appeal during his 40th coronation anniversary.
Though he said his four decades on the throne were fraught with several challenges, Oba Oseni feels fulfilled.
He regretted that one of his greatest challenges as a traditional ruler is the numerous litigations in which his throne was enmeshed and which affected the finances of the monarchy.
Oba Oseni lamented the millions of Naira that lawyers took from him every year as legal fees in order to defend his community.
This development, the monarch lamented, was due to what he called his predecessor’s lack of education; a situation that made him to enter into certain agreements which later became an albatross to his monarchy.
“It’s good for people to be educated. If my predecessors were educated, I wouldn’t have been facing these challenges now. For instance, how can our customary tenant claim to be land owners? Do you expect me to fold my arms and watch? It might interest you to know that some of them wanted to install themselves as Oba in Awori land.
“Many years back when I ascended the throne, lawyers could charge you N50, 000 or thereabout. But you get a case and approach a lawyer today, your bill runs into millions. I have won some of the cases and I believe God would assist me to win others,” he said.
Looking back, the monarch is grateful to his Creator for helping him to weather the storm.
“Unease lies the head that wears the crown! I faced a lot of problems but with the help of Almighty Father, I conquered everything. Some people who were installed as kings died after two or four years on the throne; but here we are today. If anybody had said I would still be alive, I would have doubted it,” he said.
One of the monarch’s greatest achievements is the unprecedented development which the ancient town has experienced. The monarch recalled that Iba Kingdom is diametrically different from the ‘jungle’ it once was when he mounted the throne.
“I’m happy about the development of Iba. In 1975 when I was called back home, one could not have access to this area. Who are you coming to meet in Iba apart from the indigenes and the isoko palm wine tappers that I met here when I came?
“I was living in Ajegunle then. You had to enter the bus from Ajegunle, get off at Iyana-Oba and trek down here.
“During the dry season, we would cut palm leaves and lay them on the ground; during rainy season, it was always terrible. But see the way things are now; various small-scale factories littering everywhere, hotels, private schools, LASU, our LCDA is also here.
“When I celebrated my 35th year on the throne five years ago, I appealed to the state government to fix certain roads, and I’m grateful that ex-Governor Babatunde Fashola did very well, with the exception of Ijagemo and Ijododo. But I’m sure that by the grace of God, it will be done this time.
On his regrets in the past 40 years, Oba Oseni said there were none.
Everything he ever did was based on his conviction as he always consulted God before taking any action.
He said: “I have nothing to regret since the beginning of my reign. In 1976 a year after I was installed as king, the followers of my fathers and my predecessors instituted a case against me. I was less than six months on the throne then, but some of the good works I did before I returned home, gave me lots of courage.
“Somebody must be God-fearing and I believe in my God; that is why I still insist I have no regrets,” he said.
Many of his contemporaries and subject understand Oba Oniba on his principled stance on issues. He is not the one to be easily tantalised with cash.
On principles, Oba Oseni said: “I have principles. “Once I the Oniba of Iba, says ‘no’, everybody within my domain and beyond knows I will maintain that stance. You cannot convince me with money. I know I’m not rich but I can never be tempted with money to do things against my principle.”
He noted that the immediate past chairman of the Iba LCDA had already acquired a parcel of land in the community for the proposed school.
“Unfortunately, the Ojo Military Cantonment has acquired most of our lands. We are also contemplating a general hospital but where do we site it? So, we are appealing to government to cede a part of the land acquired by Fashola before he left office as governor so that we can build a hospital there.
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Monarch appeals to Ambode for school, hospital
The Oniba of Iba, His Royal Highness (HRH) Oba Goriola Oseni has appealed to Governor Ambode to establish a public secondary school and hospital for residents of the community. The monarch made the appeal during his 40th coronation anniversary.
Though he said his four decades on the throne were fraught with several challenges, Oba Oseni feels fulfilled.
He regretted that one of his greatest challenges as a traditional ruler is the numerous litigations in which his throne was enmeshed and which affected the finances of the monarchy.
Oba Oseni lamented the millions of Naira that lawyers took from him every year as legal fees in order to defend his community.
This development, the monarch lamented, was due to what he called his predecessor’s lack of education; a situation that made him to enter into certain agreements which later became an albatross to his monarchy.
“It’s good for people to be educated. If my predecessors were educated, I wouldn’t have been facing these challenges now. For instance, how can our customary tenant claim to be land owners? Do you expect me to fold my arms and watch? It might interest you to know that some of them wanted to install themselves as Oba in Awori land.
“Many years back when I ascended the throne, lawyers could charge you N50, 000 or thereabout. But you get a case and approach a lawyer today, your bill runs into millions. I have won some of the cases and I believe God would assist me to win others,” he said.
Looking back, the monarch is grateful to his Creator for helping him to weather the storm.
“Unease lies the head that wears the crown! I faced a lot of problems but with the help of Almighty Father, I conquered everything. Some people who were installed as kings died after two or four years on the throne; but here we are today. If anybody had said I would still be alive, I would have doubted it,” he said.
One of the monarch’s greatest achievements is the unprecedented development which the ancient town has experienced. The monarch recalled that Iba Kingdom is diametrically different from the ‘jungle’ it once was when he mounted the throne.
“I’m happy about the development of Iba. In 1975 when I was called back home, one could not have access to this area. Who are you coming to meet in Iba apart from the indigenes and the isoko palm wine tappers that I met here when I came?
“I was living in Ajegunle then. You had to enter the bus from Ajegunle, get off at Iyana-Oba and trek down here.
“During the dry season, we would cut palm leaves and lay them on the ground; during rainy season, it was always terrible. But see the way things are now; various small-scale factories littering everywhere, hotels, private schools, LASU, our LCDA is also here.
“When I celebrated my 35th year on the throne five years ago, I appealed to the state government to fix certain roads, and I’m grateful that ex-Governor Babatunde Fashola did very well, with the exception of Ijagemo and Ijododo. But I’m sure that by the grace of God, it will be done this time.
On his regrets in the past 40 years, Oba Oseni said there were none.
Everything he ever did was based on his conviction as he always consulted God before taking any action.
He said: “I have nothing to regret since the beginning of my reign. In 1976 a year after I was installed as king, the followers of my fathers and my predecessors instituted a case against me. I was less than six months on the throne then, but some of the good works I did before I returned home, gave me lots of courage.
“Somebody must be God-fearing and I believe in my God; that is why I still insist I have no regrets,” he said.
Many of his contemporaries and subject understand Oba Oniba on his principled stance on issues. He is not the one to be easily tantalised with cash.
On principles, Oba Oseni said: “I have principles. “Once I the Oniba of Iba, says ‘no’, everybody within my domain and beyond knows I will maintain that stance. You cannot convince me with money. I know I’m not rich but I can never be tempted with money to do things against my principle.”
He noted that the immediate past chairman of the Iba LCDA had already acquired a parcel of land in the community for the proposed school.
“Unfortunately, the Ojo Military Cantonment has acquired most of our lands. We are also contemplating a general hospital but where do we site it? So, we are appealing to government to cede a part of the land acquired by Fashola before he left office as governor so that we can build a hospital there.
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Mother, hospital trade words over son’s death
•Removal of his body sparks row
Seeing my son die in my presence was an awful experience. I screamed for help but I got no response. My son convulsed in my eyes; I saw him breathe his last. I watched helplessly as he writhed in pains.”
These were the words of Mrs Temiloluwa Adewunmi, whose son, Oluwamurewa, died last Saturday at Ayodele Hospital in Fagba, Lagos.
The 27-year-old trader said her son was placed on oxygen immediately he got to the hospital, adding that he died after power outage. Since then, she said, the hospital has refused to release his body.
Narrating her ordeal, she said her six-month-old boy started running temperature sometime last week and was taken to Ifako General Hospital.
“When we got to the general hospital last Wednesday, we were told he should be admitted but there was no bed space. I bought the drug prescribed by the physician and my son’s temperature returned to normal.
“I was so shocked on Saturday morning when his temperature became high again. As my husband and I wanted to take him back to the general hospital, there was traffic gridlock so we resorted to Ayodele Hospital since it was in our neighbourhood,” she said.
Mrs. Adewunmi said when they got to the hospital, they were asked to pay N5,000 for card, adding: “My husband paid N2,000 and excused himself to use the Automated Teller Machine (ATM). Immediately my son was attended to. He was placed on drip and oxygen. Even when the doctor asked if he was convulsing, I told him he has never convulsed. Within few minutes, my son began to sweat and I felt he was getting better. The doctors also assured me he was going to be fine.
“As I sat beside him on his sick bed, there was power outage and I noticed the oxygen stopped moving. I ran out of the room to call for help but nobody answered me. I even went to knock the doctor’s door but no one was there. The nurses said they were going to put on the generator but it came on after 30 minutes. I removed the hose passed through his nose to aid breathing to allow breeze blow him. Before I removed it, he had already stretched his arms, I didn’t know he was about to leave me.
“It was later doctors came in, one of them placed his hands on my son’s chest but he was no more. I realised the owner of the hospital was just describing where the heart was to the doctor attending to my son. Before they put on the generator, it was my phone’s light I used to see how my son was doing.
“I have never attended the hospital before, even when I was pregnant, my friends advised me not to go there”, she said.
Mrs Adewunmi said when the family went to collect her son’s remains on Sunday, the hospital allegedly refused and demanded N40,000 before the body could be removed.
The bereaved mother said: “When we got there, I was shocked to see my son’s body beside the hospital’s dust bin. Even when my husband shouted that his son be given to him, the hospital management called police officers from Oko-Oba division to take him away. It is unfair. I have not been able to sleep. I see my son wherever I go. I want to bury him. I just got married last year and he is my first child. At three months, Murewa already had two set of tooth. He was a cute gentle boy. Whenever I took him to the market, he understood I was busy. He never disturbed me. I didn’t give him any home medication. I was even meant to use the money I had on me to stock my shop but my son is priority. Immediately I noticed his temperature, I went to the general hospital where I spent almost the whole day. I need my son’s body.”
Her husband, a veterinary doctor, she said, hasn’t been himself since the incident.
“I miss my baby, my world and my priority”, she said.
The hospital’s administration manager, George Abayomi, said the baby was brought in a terrible condition, adding that immediately light went off, the generator came on.
“We have two standby generators in our premises; why should it take us 30 minutes to put on the generator. His parents brought him at the last minute. He died as a result of anaemia heart failure,” he said.
Asked why Mr Olabode Adewunmi was detained, he said: “When the father got aware of his son’s death, he began to destroy the hospital property and he couldn’t be restrained. He promised to burn down the hospital. After he left, he returned around 12:20am with a gallon of petrol which he sprinkled in the reception, it was when we couldn’t control him that we invited police officers from Oko-Oba division.
“He came this morning (yesterday) around 9am to take his son’s body but we told him he had an outstanding balance to pay. He has to pay the bill of the services rendered. At times, in such cases, we give discount but they are insisting on not paying. He even said if we want to eat the body, we should. The body was taken to a morgue in Ikeja on Sunday and we paid N16,000.”
Stanley Nwanali, a doctor with the hospital, said the patient’s file showed that he was brought in almost in “coma, pale and with an enlarged liver”.
The Lagos State Public Advice Centre (PAC) has intervened in the matter, which has been referred to Ministry of Health and Health Facility Monitoring and Accreditation Agency (HEFAMAA) for investigation.
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Lassa fever: Council to sanction hospitals for unethical conduct
Sanction awaits any health facility that fails to report suspected cases of Lassa fever to appropriate quarters in good time, the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN) warned Friday.
“It is quite unethical for any doctor to delay any case in his own facility without referral. We have levels of care in this country, in primary level of care there is specific ailment they are suppose to treat for them to refer to the next level,” Dr Abdulmumini Ibrahim, Registrar of the council , told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja.
Speaking on the first Lassa fever death in the FCT Ibrahim said the council was yet to receive any complaint from the public on factors that led to death of the victim at the National Hospital.
Ibrahim explained that the council does not rely on `’hearsay’ in prosecuting any case, but bases its actions on valid complaints by members of the public.
His words: “we do not work on `hearsay’. There has to be valid complaint by anybody and all the information regarding the complaint is in public domain, and we will pick it up from there.
“So, if anybody should complain and against that hospital we will investigate the case and see what went wrong and bring that that doctor to book,” he said.
Describing the delay in referral of patients with any ailment as unethical, the registrar urged medical practitioners to ensure prompt referral of patients to appropriate hospitals for proper medical care or improved services.
The first death recorded in Abuja metropolis as a result of Lassa fever occurred on Jan. 13, after the victim spent about a week at the Kubwa private hospital in the FCT.
The 33-year-old man from Plateau was unconscious before he was referred to the National Hospital Abuja.
He said that private hospitals and clinics are not expected to keep any fever patient unduly, saying: “any fever that is being treated between 48 to 72 hours should vanish, whether it is malaria, typhoid or fever emanating from cancer.
“At your own level if you start treating and investigating any patient and realise that is a case you cannot handle then you refer that case rather than allowing the patient’s condition to deteriorate,” Ibrahim said.
The council is charged with the responsibility of regulating the practice of medicine, dentistry and alternative medicine in the most efficient manner that safeguards best healthcare delivery for the populace.
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Lassa fever: One patient escapes from hospital – Minister
Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole Tuesday announced the escape of a Lassa fever patient in Ebonyi state.
The patient, whose identity was not made public, it was learnt escaped from the health facility where he was receiving treatment.
The minister made the disclosure during the emergency meeting of National Council on Health in Abuja. The National Council on Health is the highest advisory body on health in the country.
The minister also inaugurated the 15 member Lassa fever eradication committee, to address the outbreak of the disease and other communicable disease in the country. The committee is headed by Prof.
The minister while the meeting was on announced to the entire gathering that he just received a text that a Lassa fever patient had escaped from a health facility in Ebonyi while undergoing treatment.
The minister therefore urged the relevant agency and the state government to do everything possible to trace the patient and those who might have had contact with the patient.
The Emergency session of the National Council on Health (NCH) on Lassa Fever Outbreak approved that a high index of suspicion should be maintained and the surveillance systems should be robust enough to detect further infections.
Other decision reached at the meeting also approved the inauguration of the Multi-Sectoral Lassa Fever Eradication Committee and also implementation of the Multi-Sectoral Response Strategy.
The meeting broadly aimed to lay the foundation for a Multi-Sectoral Response to the Lassa Fever Outbreak which has claimed about 46 lives since the outbreak of the disease in August 2015 in Niger.
Council received a presentation from Prof. Isaac F. Adewole, Hon. Minister of Health titled “Laying the Foundation for a Multi-Sectoral Response to Lassa Fever”. The presentation elucidated the Multi-Sectoral Response Strategy for the control of Lassa fever and other similar diseases.
He called on all the States to strengthen their surveillance systems, report all cases and collaborate with the Federal Ministry of Health in the successful implementation of the Multi-Sectoral Response Strategy. Six Councils also received a presentation on Epidemiological Situation of the current Lassa Fever Outbreak in Nigeria including available Response Infrastructure/Resource requirements by Prof. Abdulsalami Nasidi, National Coordinator/CEO, NCDC; updates from Lassa Fever affected states who detailed the progression of the outbreak(s) in their states and current efforts to contain and prevent further spread of the disease and reassure the affected Communities; as well as updates from CMDs/MDs of Federal Tertiary Health Institutions located within the affected States on their response and high index of suspicion towards all cases coming to their institutions, their management of confirmed cases, and measures being implemented to prevent nosocomial spread within their facilities as well as their community outreach efforts.
The Council also observed that unlike Ebola, Lassa fever is treatable if detected early and there are adequate treatment centres spread across the country. Council therefore reassured the Public on the adequacy of the response to the outbreak and urged the Public, Community and Religious leaders to cooperate with the Health Agencies in their States to ensure prompt reporting of any suspected case.
Meanwhile, Chairman of the inaugurated Lassa fever committee, Prof. Oyewole Tomori has disabused the mind of the people on the possibility of eradicating the disease.
Tomori said that as far as there are rodents it will be impossible to eradicate the disease.
He however said that what the committee will work hard at is to ensure that the disease is brought under control to the point that it is no longer an epidemic.
He said: “We cannot eradicate Lassa fever but we can control it as not to allow it to become an epidemic.”
He further tresses that it is not that the country does not know what to do but “We don’t put our money where our mouth is.”
He therefore added that “this committee is not about Lassa alone but one that tackles all communicable diseases.
On the expected challenge the committee might encounter, Prof. Tomori said main challenge the committee might encounter could be in the area of funds.
He however said with the assurance given by the minister, it is believed that is over.
Tomori also said that it was important for the committee to properly utilize the funds that will be released to it in a transparent manner.
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The gift of life
November 2, last year, I was preparing to go home from the office at about 7.30pm when I started feeling feverish. Within minutes I was shaking due to cold and only managed to drive home.
Though I didn’t use any drug overnight, I felt a bit better in the morning but stayed back home to get some treatment. It was not until Wednesday morning that I went to the hospital.
I was diagnosed of fever and was given drugs to use. By the weekend, it seemed I was getting over what initially appeared to be a simple illness but I had to return to the hospital for further checks when the pains in my heels did not subside.
I was admitted for some tests to be sure of what the real ailment was and by the time the results were out after two days, the Medical Director immediately referred me for an urgent treatment at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH).
As I found out later, one of the results was so bad that the doctor couldn’t risk retaining me in his hospital. In case I didn’t have enough money on me, the director gave me N50,000 required for emergency admission in the Private Partnership Ward in LUTH if there was no bed space in the regular ward.
As the director envisaged, there was no space for regular admission. I was given the option of staying in the car that brought me until a space could be found, or take the expensive emergency option.
Thank God for the director, I had enough to pay for the N50,000 for 24hours stay in the emergency ward and was moved to the regular ward the next day.
I ended up being on admission in LUTH for two weeks during which I underwent numerous tests and treatment. That I came out of LUTH is indeed the grace of God. Three patients died in the ward I stayed before I was discharged, while another, whose condition had improved and was waiting to be discharged, died a week after.
The two weeks I was on admission in LUTH exposed me to the true state of our health system.
At LUTH, which is supposed to be one of the best health institutions in the country, I witnessed the decay and inadequacy of facilities. Doctors, nurses and other medical personnel were obviously overwhelmed by the number of patients they had to attend to. I remember the night two nurses in my ward slept off and it took more than ten minutes of loud banging of the door to wake them.
The competence of some personnel is questionable as their prescriptions were openly overruled by superior officers. Who knows how many patients have died due to wrong diagnosis and treatment.
Cost of drugs and tests required to keep many patients alive are prohibitive and some died because they could not afford to pay.
Given the various limitations, it was obvious that it takes the grace of God for any patient to come out alive from LUTH and other health institutions in the country.
Last Thursday, my clinic appointment to see the doctor at LUTH was extended for two weeks because there were too many others waiting to be attended to on the same day.
Years of neglect, as President Muhammadu Buhari once noted in a coup speech, has turned our hospitals into consulting clinics. Hopefully, now that he is back in the saddle, he will do what is needed to improve on health delivery in the country.
I thank God for the gift of life. Indeed, doctors and other personnel can try their best to care; only God can heal.