Florence Nightingale (of blessed memory), where else do you find her legacies alive? The lady with the lamp, she gave hope to the dying...

That day I woke with earache. The ear just all of a sudden went dumb and painful. I rushed to the nearest specialist hospital with my NHIS docs to access healthcare services, the guy i met told me I did not register their facility as my healthcare provider. I had just been transferred to the town and my healthcare provider was about 100km away. He told me they could only attend to me on refferal. Meanwhile, the ache in the ear was on the increase and i felt like the eardrum was about to rupture.

Disappointed, I boarded a car to travel the 100km rough road with the wind blowing into my ears and worsening the pain. I felt like pulling off the ear for a while.

At the facility registered by me as Healthcare provider, the PMO had no much time to listen to all my complaint, he took his android phone, flashed the light into the ear, then went ahead to prescribe drugs. Antibiotics, analgesic, vitamin C and a sedative.


One week gone, the drugs got finished, then I expected relief, but the pain came alive that morning that I couldnt bear it. I ran to the FMC, walked into the admin office of NHIS and lay my docs down pleading to be attended to. The guy said it they wouldn't because the FMC was not my primary healthcare provider and it wasnt an emergency. I asked him the meaning of emergency. His difinition was
1. When you are rushed on a stretcher
2. When you faint
3. When you are involved in an accident an are unconscious.

So long as one walk himself into the hospital, irrespective of what condition it is, thats not an emergency. He added that it wasn't a right for me to access healthcare services from their facility.

With pains in my ears, disappointment in my heart and frustration all over, I made my way to prepare for another painful journey to my provider.


God bless this lady, Her name is Ruth, I called the company I registered with(HMO or so), and she was the agent who attended to me. I put forward the question to her about the scope of 'emergency', she politely said ' its d way the patient feels'. Ruth asked me to go back to FMC, that she had asked them to attend to me under emergency.

Then I walked into an office where the parameters were to be taken, i greeted the nurse but she didn't answer, thats official I thought. So I stood waiting to take her orders. She looked at me from my hair to the toes as if provoked.

"is this your first time of coming to hospital"
"why ma'am" I said politely
"Didnt you see seat!?
"sorry maam" I replied, "none was presented to me"
" if we have to tell you where to sit..." she said angrily,"how many people do we have to say that to in a day? Bla bla bla...
"Accept my unreserved apology ma'am" I pleaded, but the women went on raking at me for one third of the time I spent in her office.


At the consulting room, the doctor seems to be in a hurry, he took his android torchlight, peeked into my ear, then prescribed some drugs and a laboratory test. He was through in less than three minute, thats understandable perhaps because few patients waited outside.


It was some minutes after twelve noon, this lady opened my file and told me i had a lab test to do but it was late because the lab technichians had closed. So I should return the next day.

To collect the prescribed drugs, they made me sign the NHIS prescription slip signifying I had collected all the drugs, and was made to pay the normal 10%,only to be told at the pharmacy that I had to by the other drugs in the market because they are not in the store.

. is that allll?