Emergencies in Nigeria?
I watched a film the other day forgive me i cant remember the title but film freaks should be able to guess what it is when i describe it.
A young black american family struggling with funds faces a huge crises when their son suddenly collapses in the middle of a baseball game, he is taken to hospital where his parents are told he will need a heart transplant but they have no funds or health insurance to pay the bills and the hospital wants to kick them out when the father takes the law into his hands.............
Yeah im sure you have guessed the title but i still can' t remember the title.....well i only wanted to write about the scene where he was taken to the hospitals emergency room, when i watched it i was speechless and i had to pause the film at this point. The person who i was watching it with was wondering what was going on with me, i summed it up in a few words ' if that kid was in Nigeria and taken to any general hospital or primary health care centre and even many tertiary centers he would not last through the hour'. Well if he was taken to Reddington Hospital formerly known as the the cardiac centre in Victoria Island Lagos my prognosis wont be so bleak about his prospects one hour after admission.
The question is how many Nigerians can afford the fees of Reddington and how many such Reddingtons exist in Nigeria. For those of you who have watched the film i'll give you the corollary of what would happen if he were brought to any medical centre in Nigeria.
A father rushes into an emergency room ( usually a small room where two or three people standing shoulder to shoulder will be uncomfortable doing so) of a clinic/health center or hospital with the mother close behind shouting "e gba wa, e gba wa" meaning please help us. They are met at the door or in the room by a nurse who tells them they have to open a card first, pay some small token and proceed to take the child from them and place on a stretcher or flat surface provided for the occassion.
She may attempt to take a quick history from them or shout orders to an orderly to call the doctor if he can be found, when he does eventually appear he repeats the same questions the nurse has asked in more detail since he is a doctor, he examines the child, listens to his heart knows something is wrong but has no facilities to run those tests shown in the film.
If a baseline Electrocardiogram can not be done how do you expect an echocardiogram to be available.
Before you tell me i am being too hitech, if he wants to do a complete blood count, the laboratory may not be in the same building as the clinic so a trip to the lab to get a packed cell volume, white blood cell count, platelet count may further delay management and will not assist in saving that child within the first minute. God help you if NEPA sorry PHCN is at work as is usually the case. Did i hear you say Arterial oxygen saturation and CO2 levels / Pleeaaase, if that child needs such things he may as well have collapsed on the playfields in New York and not on a football field in Mariga.
If he needs to be intubated and placed on oxygen his parents should have been interceding since Nigerias independence that her health system would rival that anywhere in the developed world. For those who think im just exaggerating remember this article deals with an emergency situation where time is important and not to chronic cases that have time to be referred to better centres. A visit to many centres where most Nigerians go will be a trial that will definitely convince you.
My prayer is that may we all continue to be healthy so we do not experience the worst medicine has to offer in acute emergencies in Nigeria nad may the Nigerian health care system be "born again" that the essential modern gadgetry of the first world will be available in our health institutions and the future of the Nigerian child may no longer be in jeopardy. AMEN.
A young black american family
Yeah im sure you have guessed the title but i still can' t remember the title.....well i only wanted to write about the scene where he was taken to the hospitals emergency room, when i watched it i was speechless and i had to pause the film at this point. The person who i was watching it with was wondering what was going on with me, i summed it up in a few words ' if that kid was in Nigeria and taken to any general hospital or primary health care centre and even many tertiary centers he would not last through the hour'. Well if he was taken to Reddington Hospital formerly known as the the cardiac centre in Victoria Island Lagos my prognosis wont be so bleak about his prospects one hour after admission.
The question is how many Nigerians can afford the fees of Reddington and how many such Reddingtons exist in Nigeria. For those of you who have watched the film i'll give you the corollary of what would happen if he were brought to any medical centre in Nigeria.
A father rushes into an emergency room ( usually a small room where two or three people standing shoulder to shoulder will be uncomfortable doing so) of a clinic/health center or hospital with the mother close behind shouting "e gba wa, e gba wa" meaning please help us. They are met at the door or in the room by a nurse
She may attempt to take a quick history from them or shout orders to an orderly to call the doctor if he can be found, when he does eventually appear he repeats the same questions the nurse has asked in more detail since he is a doctor, he examines the child, listens to his heart knows something is wrong but has no facilities to run those tests shown in the film.
If a baseline Electrocardiogram can not be done how do you expect an echocardiogram to be available.
Before you tell me i am being too hitech, if he wants to do a complete blood count, the laboratory may not be in the same building as the clinic so a trip to the lab to get a packed cell volume, white blood cell count, platelet count may further delay management and will not assist in saving that child within the first minute. God help you if NEPA sorry PHCN is at work as is usually the case. Did i hear you say Arterial oxygen saturation and CO2 levels / Pleeaaase, if that child needs such things he may as well have collapsed on the playfields in New York and not on a football field in Mariga.
If he needs to be intubated and placed on oxygen his parents should have been interceding since Nigerias independence that her health system would rival that anywhere in the developed world. For those who think im just exaggerating remember this article deals with an emergency situation where time is important and not to chronic cases that have time to be referred to better centres. A visit to many centres where most Nigerians go will be a trial that will definitely convince you.
My prayer is that may we all continue to be healthy so we do not experience the worst medicine has to offer in acute emergencies in Nigeria nad may the Nigerian health care system be "born again" that the essential modern gadgetry of the first world will be available in our health institutions and the future of the Nigerian child may no longer be in jeopardy. AMEN.
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