As we approached the Yar’Adua Centre, my companion, who had just returned to Abuja from Abia after over a decade, caught sight of the leading public hospitals in Abuja and exclaimed: “May I never enter that place.”
His words were striking. When I asked why, he responded with a chilling remark: “Those who enter don’t come back alive.”
This captures the growing fear and mistrust among Nigerians towards the nation’s healthcare system. Misdiagnoses and wrong prescriptions have become regular. Many patients have met their Waterloo through misdiagnosis and the wrong drug prescription. This has left tongues wagging and created fear in many who crave solution to their ailments at hospitals.
These medical errors have left on their trail devastating outcomes, leaving patients and their families to grapple with the consequences of a healthcare system riddled with quacks, and exodus of experienced hands.
Wrong cancer diagnosis
Mrs. Chineye Benjamin was initially diagnosed with cancer. Chemotherapy was prescribed. Pushed to seek a second opinion from a medical practitioner, and after going to two or more hospitals, it was found to be untrue. The diagnosis was wrong.
Similarly, Ms Okodue Peace, who underwent a mastectomy after being diagnosed with breast cancer, was reassured by doctors that her organs were unaffected. However, the truth was far more sinister. The cancer had spread throughout her body. It was fatal.
Chineye Benjamin was diagnosed with cancer. Chemotherapy was prescribed. It turned out that the diagnosis was wrong
The doctors chose not to disclose this but continued to prescribe medication that failed to address the core issue. On July 19, Peace passed away after a brave and candid doctor revealed to her family that the cancer had spread throughout her brain and had eaten deep into her body.
These stories, and countless others like them highlight a disturbing trend in which critical information is withheld from patients. This practice has compromised the trust in the healthcare system, prompting those who can afford it to seek treatment abroad.
Hospitals like the National Hospital have been accused of prioritising profit over patient care, as in Peace’s case, where stronger drugs were prescribed without addressing the core issue of cancer. Such negligence has resulted in fatal consequences, leading to a public outcry for urgent reforms to restore public confidence in the healthcare sector.
Mrs Anita Sunday said her friend suffered a similar fate after being diagnosed with appendicitis in one of the public hospitals in Abuja. Such stories highlight the systemic failures within the healthcare system in the country.
Ms Okodue Peace had a mastectomy after she was diagnosed with breast cancer. Her doctors told her that her organs were unaffected when the cancer had, indeed, spread throughout her body
Sunday said that many patients have often been advised to seek medical treatment abroad if they can afford it. This is because Nigeria appears to have left its healthcare in the hands of those who care less about human life.
Mrs Oke Azubike recounted her own brush with medical negligence at a Federal Medical Centre, where a failure to conduct a standard full blood count before a biopsy led to severe bleeding.
Experts say biopsy is a procedure to remove a piece of tissue or a sample of cells from the body so that it can be tested in a laboratory. It was only when she was transferred to the National Hospital and her identity as a journalist was recognised that her case received the attention it warranted.
Bureaucratic hurdles and unethical practices
“I was bleeding profusely; the doctor was going to do a biopsy, and he didn’t follow the standard procedure of doing a full blood count before the procedure. If he had, he would have known that my platelets were low and I wouldn’t have started bleeding uncontrollably after the biopsy.
“The doctor knew he had committed a serious blunder. Later, one of my doctor friends who was treating me told me that the errant doctor had called some of them to tell them the situation. That was when they discovered it was me the doctor was talking about.
“That doctor can’t forget me because, God forbid, if anything happened to me, he and FMC would have been in serious trouble. It was pure negligence on his part.
Oke Azubike suffered medical negligence at a Federal Medical Centre, where a failure to conduct a standard full blood count before a biopsy led to near-fatal bleeding
“I remember some years ago, when he saw me, he told one of his colleagues that this was the lady I forgot to do a FBC on before the biopsy’’, she said.
The situation is further compounded by the stories of families, like that of Mr. Simon Oladipo, who lost a loved one at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) due to a series of bureaucratic hurdles and unethical practices that seem to have been designed to extract more money from grieving families.
Need for reform and accountability
These tragic tales underscore the urgent need for a complete overhaul of Nigeria’s healthcare system. Without significant reform and accountability, the cycle of fear, mistrust, and preventable deaths will continue to haunt the nation’s hospitals, leaving citizens to suffer in agony.
Oladipo, who lost a family member to Nigeria’s negligent health system, said: “I have insisted that the solution to Nigeria’s situation does not lie in prayers. No. As long as you have people running around government institutions like this, no matter how fervently people pray for Nigeria, it will remain an irredeemable country”.
Curbing healthcare worker migration
The Federal Government recently introduced new policies aimed at curbing the ‘Japa’ syndrome, particularly among medical practitioners. This mass exodus has created significant challenges for Nigeria’s healthcare system, including a shortage of skilled personnel, which in turn has contributed to issues like misdiagnosis and wrong prescriptions.
We frequently encounter lab results that just don’t add up to clinical observations -physician
Observers say that by retaining more quality medical practitioners and improving their working conditions, the government can address the root causes of misdiagnosis and wrong prescriptions.
Wrongful laboratory findings
A Lagos-based medical practitioner Bayo Sekumade, was recently quoted by the media as expressing concerns about misdiagnosis, saying that “the growing distrust in laboratory findings has serious implications for patient care and the overall healthcare system.
“We frequently encounter lab results that just don’t add up to clinical observations. Such discrepancies force us to question their validity, often delaying crucial treatments”, the media quoted him as saying.
He, however, blamed the situation on the fact that many laboratories are poorly equipped while most machines are outdated and poor maintained.
Mr. Felix Akande, a public affairs analyst, said that these errors often occur due to overworked and undertrained doctors, a situation exacerbated by the Japa syndrome. According to him, with a more stable and well-supported healthcare workforce, doctors and other professional in the health sector will be in a better position to focus on their jobs.
medical errors often occur due to overworked and undertrained doctors, a situation exacerbated by the Japa syndrome -observer
He also said that with the introduction of the policy, the government aims to enhance the working conditions of medical practitioners in Nigeria. This, he said, is done by increasing salaries, improving the infrastructure of healthcare facilities, and ensuring that necessary medical equipment and drugs are readily available.
These improvements, according to him, are expected to reduce the motivation for doctors and other medical professionals to leave the country. He said the policy aims to not only keep more medical practitioners in Nigeria but also to ensure that they have the right equipment to perform.
Prof. Ali Pate, Coordinating Minister, Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, says the Federal Government was determined to remove all obstacles that hinder effective health care delivery in the country. He spoke at the 6th meeting of Basic Health Care Provision Fund ministerial oversight function in Abuja.
“Recognising the need for a more robust governance structure and clearer guidelines, the Ministry and its development partners are committed to making healthcare services accessible to Nigerian women, children and for all citizens’’, he said.
If government would match words with actions it would go a long way in restoring public confidence in the nation’s healthcare system. (NANFeatures)
