Some time ago I saw on the news the death of a celebrity who was involved in a ghastly car accident and he was rushed to the hospital immediately, I really can't tell if it was a government hospital or a private hospital but the doctors or nurses that were supposed to attend to him to ensure that he lives contributed to his death in a way.
He was alive when he was taken to the hospital but died a while later and videos were released to the internet which revealed the nurses or doctors that were supposed to attend to him taking pictures and making videos of a helpless man on the brink of death for reasons unknown to me. I couldn't wrap my head around the fact that those doctors who swore oaths to protect lives were busy filming a dying man just to get views on the internet and of course the hospital got called out for having such incompetent staff after the poor man gave up the ghost.
I didn't know the man but his death got to me because he would have been rescued if he had been treated immediately but he was neglected and left to die while certain individuals chose to use him to get popular on the internet.
This isn't the only case that shows just how incompetent some Nigerian doctors can be and at this point some of them don't even bother to keep their shady acts a secret anymore. There have been cases of neglect in the labor rooms which would lead to pregnant women dying even when they're not supposed to and I really wonder how these doctors and nurses go about their normal lives without the burden of deaths that could have been prevented weighing heavily on their shoulders.
Hospitals owned by the government are meant to provide some relief from those owned by private individuals but yet some of them are nothing to write home about and the terrible stories I have heard have put a scar on me which would not be fading away anytime soon.
I really don't know which is worse, dealing with rude and nonchalant doctors in government owned hospitals or having to face quacks passing as professional doctors who are just out to get your money without caring about one's life in the process.
Though I have my reservations when it comes to the health care sector in my country, I have to admit that there have been wonderful achievements there as well.
I have heard the testimony of a woman who had a serious health issue with no funds whatsoever and a major surgery had to be performed on her for her to be able to live and she told us how she was terribly worried about how to begin to raise money for the surgery because it cost millions of naira.
The surgery had not been done by any doctor in Nigeria before so the plan was to fly her out of the country to the hospital where she would be treated and it added more expenses for her. But God made a way for her when it got announced that a renowned doctor who had many years of experience with a peculiar case such as hers was going to pay a visit to the country and would perform the surgery as a sort of lecture for the doctors in Nigeria so that there would be no need for patients to fly out of the country to get treated.
National Cancer Institute From Unsplash
To her utmost joy and surprise, the hospital she was staying in was chosen to host the lecture and she was chosen by the doctors as the first person that would be treated for such a case in Nigeria. It was a big relief to her and her joy knew no bounds as the surgery was successful and she could go about her life.
Because it was the first time such a surgery was performed in Nigeria, all expenses were covered for her and she didn't pay a dime for the surgery and the treatments after that.
As I listened to her narrate her ordeal with such gratitude to the doctors that thought of her when she thought all hope was lost, it made me think that there's still hope for the health sector because good doctors who actually take their oaths seriously exist and it warmed my heart so much.
LoL.. well thanks God for the woman's life but can you imagine, it is only when they want to carry out an experiment that they have never tried before that they could do it for free, what if she died at the proccess?
I come to realize that doctors and nurses are only humans, they only do what they can do. The fact that they were trained doesn't make them gods, some of them still meet issues that are higher than their experience, that is where some of those start giving excuses, though there are those who are just too mean and corrupt
I don't think she'd have died because an expert was coming to teach doctors in Nigeria how to go about such a major surgery and thankfully it was a huge success.
Thank you so much for reading.
You are welcome ma
It is terrible what you say about the medical situation in your country, you do not know whether to trust the public or private health sector, the system is corrupt, although there is hope, I hope that doctors and nurses have learned something from that doctor who came from a foreign country.
I really hope they learned to keep their oaths because it's really terrifying the neglect that some patients face in my country.
Thank you so much for your feedback.