The One-Doctor Syndrome In Degema

I am constrained to echo the concerns of several residents in Degema Consulate and the adjoining communities and those who visit the hospital for medical attention on the grossly under-staffed state of Degema General Hospital.
The General Hospital is so strategically located that it is accessed easily by people living in most communities of Degema, Asari-Toru and Akuku-Toru Local Government Areas.
And because of its proximity and easy accessibility to many people, the hospital is a beehive for patients, who, more often than not, go home unattended to.
The reason is not far-fetched. The number of medical/health personnel in the hospital is grossly disproportionate to the number of people seeking medical attention, of which some cases are critical and require urgent attention. For instance, only one medical doctor was posted to the hospital and one can not expect him to work beyond the normal pace, if he must carry out a thorough examination on patients and make accurate or at least near-accurate diagnosis and prescriptions.
The one-doctor syndrome of the hospital does not help matters at all. As a man, limited by time and circumstances, it is impossible for one doctor to attend to about 200 patients (out-patients and those on admission). Can this be possible? Certainly, mental fatigue and boredom will ensue, especially giving the unconducive environment in which the staff work. And the attendant consequences can better be imagined than experienced.
Therefore, three or more doctors preferably specialists including, a gyneacologist, paediatrician should be posted to the hospital. By so doing, the policy of bringing health and medical care to the grassroot would be achieved.
It is pertinent to state that it was part of the health policy of the state government to make the Degema General Hospital a referral hospital. But this status is far from being achieved because of inadequate manpower, irregular power supply and relevant medical facilities. The Ministry of Health and the Hospitals Management Board should please take a statistics of what the Hospital needs with a view to providing them urgently. The sanctity of life should be regarded. Life is priceless, so no amount of money is too much to be injected into the hospital to save lives of the citizenry.
The time to act is now. More Doctors, more Midwives and Nurses, more Laboratory attendant’s drugs and equipment/facilities are the panacea to the plight of both patients and the few staff in the hospital.
Also important is the problem of accommodation for doctors and other medical personnel working in the hospital. They should be made to reside in Degema. This, the state government can do by providing conducive accomodation with necessary facilities to stem the lure of township residency. At present some of the staff come from Port Harcourt at their own timing. This trend, if not checked, will negate government’s effort in achieving its health policies. I hope relevant authorities will rise to this challenge.
Charles-Benibo wrote in from Degema.

Great I. Charles-Benibo