AND THE MALLAM DIED

TONY ITA ETIM

AND THE MALLAM DIED.

“Mallam” Saadu was one of the security men that watch over the premises that houses Champion Newspapers office in Port Harcourt, River State. Thursday evening, May 30, Saadu went across the road to take tea and as he was returning to the premises he was hit by a car. The driver took him to the Rivers state government-owned Braithwaite Memorial Hospital, BMH, Port Harcourt.

I was in the office that evening when the Hausa men raised alarm that a car hit Saadu and the driver took him to an unknown destination. We entered a vehicle in pursuit but not knowing the direction the vehicle took, we decided to check Teme Clinic, run by Doctors without Borders, but we were informed there was no such case. Our fear was that the driver might have taken the victim only to dump him somewhere and escape but this was a different Nigerian, a man with conscience, compassion and fear of God.

We decided to check at BMH and behold Saadu was there and the driver of the car later identified as Frank. Though the doctors and nurses on duty were slow to attend to the victim, we were confident that since he made it to the hospital, he would survive. But when Frank’s brother came to the hospital he was angry with his brother for bringing Saadu to BMH instead of Teme. He recalled how he lost his daughter last year in the hospital due to careless attitude of the staff. He was bitter and one can see bitterness oozing out of his veins.

There is a sign in BMH emergency ward that accident victim should not pay anything within their first 24 hours in the hospital but this was not the case with patient Saadu. There were even telephone numbers of the CMD and another official designated as Coordinator that people can call and complain but that night I tried their lines and none went through. All the drugs, cotton wool, bandage, hands gloves and other medical consumables used in treating Saadu were paid for, cash, by Frank, who was ready to pay anything or even pay for the victim to live if it was possible.

The doctors and nurses were just callous; they did not care whether the patient lives or die. But trust Nigerians they may have their own reasons and excuses for behaving the way they did. At a point we were begging them for pillow for the victim and one of them asked why we did not come with a pillow, so we should be carrying pillows about in case of emergency? Frank even offered to buy a pillow if one is available for sale. It was at this point that they brought a pillow about 12.30 am Friday, May 31 for a patient that was brought in about 8 pm Thursday. We were about leaving when we discovered that Saadu was quaking seriously we have to call the attention of the doctors and nurses to attend to him. By 6 am my phone rang and the caller, Andrew Ebu of Thisday broke the news of Saadu’s death. He was buried that Friday morning according Muslims rites in Port Harcourt. Saadu who married about six months ago left behind a young wife and a heartbroken mother, among other relations. One can not really say whether Saadu died of neglect from the hospital or injuries from the accident. But the consensus is that if it were Teme, he would have survived. What is the magic about Teme? BMH should go and learn from them.

The Rivers State government in the last couple of years has sunk billions of naira into BMH to improve and upgrade equipment and facilities. The hospital even carries the tag of a specialist. But the staffs of the hospital are notorious for poor attitude towards their jobs and the patients who are the reason for setting up the hospital in the first place and why they were employed to work there. Jobs in the medical fields are more of a humanitarian calling than a career for prestige. The prestige that goes with these professions must not translate to arrogance and insensitivity. A doctor or a nurse must have compassion for human lives. That they have seen many deaths should not make them harden to a point that one more death does not matter. Every life is important. They maybe doctors and nurses but who knows when and where their own emergency may occur, and at first, those treating them may not know they are doctors and nurses, would they be happy if someone treat them or their relations the same the treat others? One does not need to be a Very Important Personality or know one doctor or nurse before he is treated fairly. People who are not ready to serve the public should not seek jobs in public institutions. Since they are “big and important people” they should establish their own clinics and treat patrons the way they do in public hospitals and see who would patronize them.

It is not enough for government to establish such facilities or institutions but there should be strict supervision and monitoring to see that the right thing is done and at the right time. It is a waste of tax payers’ money for such a hospital to be established and funded but the workers are not discharging the services that should be offered to the public. Commissioners and Permanent Secretaries, once in a while should visit these facilities unannounced and see things for themselves. Those who are appointed to manage these public institutions should check the performance of their staff. Staff of BMH, I would suggest, need some re-orientation, change in their attitude to work and how they relate with the public that they are employed to serve.

Have the staff and management of BMH ever heard of SERVICOM? I am afraid the may not going by their attitude to work and patients visiting the hospital. Stories about the hospital and how they treat their patients are not complimentary. Or is it a deliberate ploy to discredit the hospital so that patients can be referred to private health facilities owned by the staffs? Why should individual manage their private businesses well only to turn around a make a shipwreck of public institutions? God dey!