Investigations by our correspondents
during the week revealed that many patients, including pregnant women,
have either been shunning or absconding from public hospitals because of
the high cost of accessing effective medical care.
Some of the patients have therefore resorted to seeking help in traditional healing homes and places of worship.
The Chief Medical Director, University
of Ilorin Teaching Hospital, Ilorin, Prof. Abdulwaheed Olatinwo,
confirmed to one of our correspondents that many patients had been
unable to pay their bills after treatments.
He said the problem might be connected with the current economic crisis in the country.
Olatinwo said, “The problem is that more
people cannot pay. We now need to be looking for more funds to take
care of the poor as we cannot turn down people, most especially,
emergency cases. For those who cannot pay, it is either we write their
bills off or we rely on some philanthropists assistance.”
The Director-General, Kwara State
Hospital Management Bureau, Dr. Olubunmi Jetawo -Winter, also said new
mothers and other patients had been absconding from the hospital without
paying their medical bills.
Jetawo -Winter, who stated that the
development was connected with the current economic challenges in the
country, said, “We have a lot of patients who are unable to pay their
bills. I believe it is because of the situation of the country.
“We have people who are admitted and
when they are fairly okay, even when they had not been discharged yet,
they abscond because they do not want to wait until they are discharged
to avoid paying their bills.
“There have been cases where patients
will pretend as if they are going to the bathroom or to the restroom and
just abscond from there. They now understand that when it is an
emergency, we must treat them before asking for money in accordance with
the instruction given to all the hospitals.
“Some patients, especially expectant
mothers, are a classical example. They only come to the hospitals when
the heads of their babies are already sticking out and at that point, we
do not have a choice but to deliver them of the babies and make sure
that the baby and the mother are safe. The moment that happens, they
abscond.”
The Chief Medical Director, Benue State
University Teaching Hospital, Makurdi, Prof. Orkwuga Malu, explained the
harrowing experience the hospital is going through in the discharge of
its responsibilities.
Malu, who admitted that the number of
patients, including expectant mothers, visiting the hospital for
treatment had dropped due to economic hardship, said the situation might
have led to the rise in the prices of drugs.
He said, “When we give orders for supply
of drugs, the contractors will come back without supplying them because
by the time they get to the market, the prices of the drugs would have
gone up beyond what they had quoted for us.
“So, there is delay in the supply of
drugs and sometimes, we have to cut down on the quantity of drugs we
want to buy or source for extra funds elsewhere to be able to buy the
drugs in order to keep the service going.”
The CMD also admitted that the poor
power supply in the country and the high cost of running generators were
affecting the services of the hospital.
The situation is not different in public hospitals in Ondo State.
Many sick people and expectant mothers
in the state told one of our correspondents that the current economic
crisis facing the country was negatively affecting them.
Initially, Mother and Child Hospitals in
Akure and Ondo towns were offering free services, including caesarian
sections to pregnant women, while children under five years of age were
treated free of charge.
But it was learnt that this had changed
because of the economic reality in the country as patients now have to
buy drugs to be administered on them by the hospitals.
One of our correspondents gathered that
the state government increased treatment bills in the health
institutions as part of the efforts to boost its Internally Generated
Revenue.
A source close to the Ondo State
Hospital Management Board said the government’s funding of public
hospitals had drastically reduced.
But the Ondo State Commissioner for
Information, Kayode Akinmade, said medical services in the two hospitals
were the best in the country.
Investigation, however, revealed a
slight increase in the number of patients seeking treatment from
traditional medical centres across the state.
In Enugu State, it was learnt that
patients had been trooping to “spiritual healing homes” for treatment
because of the higher cost of accessing medical care in public
hospitals.
A source said though Enugu State
University Teaching Hospital still attracts patients due to some
specialist services it offers, there had been a marked reduction in the
number of patients in recent times.
The source said, “Patients who come to the hospital complain of high cost of services.”
The CMD, Specialist Hospital, Bauchi,
Dr. Zailani Isa, admitted that there was decrease in the number of
patients, including expectant mothers being admitted in the 350-bed
hospital, unlike before.
He said, “As of yesterday (Thursday), we
had only 65 patients on admission. Before now, our usual patients on
admission were between 100 and 120. There was a time when we were having
up to 150 patients on admission. The decline in the number of patients
on admission is because they cannot afford the bills, drugs and pay for
surgeries.”
According to him, except children
between 0 and five years of age who are given free drugs and treatments
as directed by the state governor, others are to pay for their drugs and
other medical services.
He said, “We have challenges. Like now,
we are running on generator and it will be switched off by 2pm. This is
based on the directive of the governor, so we always switch it off. We
will put it on in the evening because we cannot afford to run on
generator for 24 hours, it is not possible. So we put it on in the
evening from 7.30 till 10pm.”
The collapse of the drug revolving scheme in Cross River State appears to have made the situation more pathetic in the state.
At the University of Calabar Teaching
Hospital and the General Hospital in Calabar, one of our correspondents
learnt that the pharmacy units at the two facilities merely existed
because they lacked drugs to dispense to patients.
It was gathered that equipment in the
gigantic laboratories at both institutions had been abandoned as medical
personnel have formed the habit of referring patients to get examined
in private diagnostic centers.
A top official from UCTH, who spoke on
condition of anonymity, said 90 per cent of the drugs prescribed for
outpatients and those on admission were bought from external pharmacies.
He said, “We have hospital revolving
fund, where an amount is reserved for the purchase of drugs. Once the
fund is made available, it is the duty of the pharmacy unit to purchase
drugs and sell to the public. The idea is to ensure that the fund is
always available. Unfortunately, money meant for that purpose is now
being channelled to other areas.”
The Director-General, Cross River State Primary Healthcare Development Agency, Dr. Betta Edu, confirmed the source’s claim.
Edu said most public health institutions in the state had become prescription centres.
She, however, said that the newly
introduced State Health Insurance Scheme tagged “Ayade Care” would seek
to address the collapse in the health sector.
The financial challenge is also having its toll on the Osun State health care system.
Patients, especially those whose cases
require surgeries at the State Hospital, Asubiaro in Osogbo, were being
made to buy diesel to power the hospital’s generator to be used during
the procedures.
An official at the hospital, who spoke
on condition of anonymity, said, “Drugs are not available in our
hospital. The only drugs available are paracetamol and Vitamin-C; you
can’t get more than those two here.
“Patients who require surgeries are
asked to bring diesel to power the generator. Some may be asked to bring
10 liters depending on how long the surgery will take.”
The situation is also the same at Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomoso, where drugs are also scarce even to buy.
A doctor at LAUTECH told one of our correspondents on the condition of anonymity that the hospital’s pharmacy had been grounded.
Meanwhile, a former President of the
Nigeria Medical Association, Dr. Kayode Obembe, said the health sector
could be better managed at a time like this through public-private
partnership, noting that such would take some financial burden off the
public health institutions.
He added that government should explore
the benefits of health insurance, so that people could afford health
care, as they would only be required to pay little.
He said, “For example, under a PPP
arrangement, government can partner with solar energy providers for
power generation, while MRI scan, laboratory services, and such other
services can be transferred to private companies in a way that both
sides can benefit.
“What is the business of the doctor in
keeping the generator running? These things should be transferred to the
private sector under a PPP so that doctors and health care
professionals can focus on core clinical areas. And these steps or
intervention need no postponement. If they want to start tomorrow, it is
possible.”
No comments:
Post a Comment