KANO PUBLIC HOSPITALS AND EMERGENCY. by Shamsudeen sani
shamsudeensani@gmail.com

Kano is the most populated state in northern Nigeria with more than 15 million people. There are 8 Local government within Kano Metropolis i.e Nassarawa, Dala Municipal, Tarauni, Fagge, Kumbotso, Gwale and Ungogo which constitutes almost two third (2/3) of the total population in the state.
However, the population in the state is growing rapidly which is always associated with some factors like increase in social pressure, rate of accidents, pollution, spread of diseases and other ailments. Therefore, it is necessary for the governments to provide all the essential social services basically to make life commendable and praiseworthy particularly provision of health care delivery services to cater for the teaming population across the state.
As pointed out earlier, being one of most populated state in Nigeria (2006 Census), the provision of essential health institutions and manpower in the state is inevitable especially in the area of accident, emergency and relief management substantially because of the rate at which these phenomena occurred on daily basis which are seems to became unbridled in the state. It is believed that every blessed day people/rescue operation team are taken the victims of accident and or emergency to the hospital for treatment, but the number of public hospitals that treats emergency cases in the state are not adequate to respond to the rate of casualties in the State. With population of more than 15 million people, there are only 5 public hospitals that are assigned to provide emergency treatment within the metropolis, and these are Murtala Muhammed Specialist Hospital (Municipal), Muhammed Abdullahi Wase Specialist Hospital and Sir Muhammadu Sunusi (I) Hospital (Nassarawa), Infectious Diseases Hospital(IDH) and Sheikh Muhammad Jidda Hospital(all in Fagge) among others, and it is believed that these hospital could not respond adequately to the corresponding rate of accident and emergency in Kano metropolis.
Emergency treatment is concerned with immediate care of patients involves in serious or life threatening injury or illness as a result of either accident or sudden attack of any disease. The personnel working in the unit are expected to be professional in diagnosing numerous diseases, that is to say they can deal and treat wide range of ailments and to provide the patients or victims of accident with urgent life saving care as first aid before transferring them to the appropriate unit within or outside the hospital for additional care. But to be honest what is happening in Kano Public Hospitals infuriate the laws, provisions and duties of emergency unit in the hospital. This is because emergency departments are always expected to be fully equipped with all the necessary facilities and personnel such as enough drugs, well trained Doctors and Nurses, who have the capacity to diagnose and treat any and immediate casualties and who are suppose to be available on call or duty for 24 hours 7 days committed to rescue operation unconditionally, but to be honest accident and emergency units in all the above mentioned public hospitals in kano are operating below expectation. It happened to me recently, I took one of my aunties who had sudden collapsed as a result of high blood pressure to Nassarawa hospital around 9pm where I found about 20 patients with different ailments who were in desperate and in dare need of immediate attention, some sitting on the benches, others on bare floor and some were receiving drift on hospital wheel chairs and some on benches, but with all these the patients were attended to by 2 Doctor for both accident and emergency cases, and the most ridiculous thing was when I found out that bed space is not up to 10 for female and was already filled, because of this they refered us to Murtala Muhammed specialist hospital where the level of negligence was much worsening, this was because at first we were denied access to the A & E with the car despite the condition of the patient who was in a state of comma and hence need to be taken closer to the building, we were kept waiting and begging the gate man, then we were advised to give some money as bribe before we are allowed to get in eventhough I did not give but agreed to give them after treating my patient . Secondly we met more than 30 patients also attended by single Doctor too. And we also got the same response 'NO BEDSPACE' but there was stretcher and we need to do some underground effort for them to secure it for us. We now proceeded to Sheikh Muhammadu Jidda Hospital along Kuroda but the same story, and finally we took her to AKTH around 2am where she was attended and treated accordingly.
This seems to be highly incredible, incredulous and inconceivable in a state like Kano and is ashamed for the government of Kano State who for long over preaches justice, equity and fairness especially in health sector which I later realized it as total fabricated lies, deception and propaganda. Certainly I must confess that citizens in the state particularly the masses who always depend on public hospitals are disgraced, embarrassed and are considered unimportant for long.
What I experienced was the reality and it is the fact that requires no investigation but to clear your doubt you can visit one or two of the public hospitals in the state especially in the evening and see what is exactly happening with your eyes, you must sympathize and have serious compassion to the patients, because some are forced to die as a result of poverty, hostility and careless, indeed you may even shade tears in respond to the condition of poor patients in public hospitals particularly in Accident and Emergency Units and labour room.
My questions here are why the public hospitals, clinics and other health institutions are neglected and sometimes abandoned just like that? Is it because government’s officials are not using public hospitals or because of the fact that they are visiting oversea for their medical attention and check up? And why many Doctors are abandoning their duties in public hospital and concentrate much in private Hospital? Why poor patients are receiving higher hostilities and aggressiveness in public hospitals? And my last question is why government is lying through the media on the issue of health care delivery?
I rest my case by blaming the authorities concerned including the state government for this negligence because of what the bureaucratic concept of ANONYMITY entails that government as powerfull body must be liable for any credit or blame happened in the society. So for these reason kano state government need to wake up and start making some active adjustment capable of transforming the state of our public hospitals particularly in emergency units because to me I think it is the most important unit in any hospital.
Finally more emergency treatment centres should be established by both government and our communities across the state in order to meet up the demand attached to health care in Kano state. I am sure if government harmonize our health sectors per excellent everything will be in order and all the blunders observed in public hospitals must be corrected.

write from Shamsudeen Sani

A good write up , there.