She had become thoroughly exhausted by
the time her mother and her driver helped her out of the rear seat of
the black sport utility vehicle that morning. With pockets of pain all
over her face, she was limping, breathing with so much effort, as they
slowly made their way to the entrance of the maternity ward of the Ifako
Ijaye General Hospital in Lagos.
Her health seemed to be failing her,
thus, she settled into one of the chairs outside the ward to have some
rest and attend to her baby who had been crying in the arms of her
mother. After some minutes of rest, she proceeded into the ward for
treatment.
Since about two months ago when she was
delivered of a baby girl in the hospital, Mrs. Rose Adesina, as she
later introduced herself, has been confined into a world of pain, and
suffice it to say life has been hellish for her since then.
Struggling to muster some strength moments after her treatment, she told Saturday PUNCH that her failing health might not be unconnected with the way she was treated shortly after her delivery.
Her explanation was simple, but
shocking. She said few hours after she was delivered of her baby boy,
one of the nurses in the ward told her to pack her things, vacate the
bed and sit on the chair to allow other women have access to the bed
space.
That development, which findings
revealed as being synonymous with the hospital because of the constraint
of space and the need to attend to other women in labour, did not only
rob her of the much needed rest after delivery, she has since been
living in pains.
She recalled, “I was delivered of my
baby girl around 1am and moments later I guess I slept off. Very early
in the morning, a nurse came to me and said I should pack my things
because I would need to go and sit on a chair, pending the time I would
be discharged, so they could admit another person to use the bed.
“I thought I was dreaming, so I had to
wipe my face and be sure what I heard was real because I was tired and
could barely talk loudly. I asked her why she wanted me to stand up from
the bed and sit on a plastic chair when I was just recuperating. She
said there was no luxury of space and that there were people waiting to
be admitted.
“By that time, all the parts of my body
were aching and all I needed was rest, but I had to stand up. In fact,
when my husband came in and met me sleeping on the chair, he was
disturbed and screamed. They explained to him but it just didn’t make
sense to him, just as it was like a dream to me.
“They laid my baby on the floor while I
sat on the plastic chair for about five hours, writhing in pain. By the
time I was discharged later in the day, I had become so depressed,
miserable and weak, with cramps in my stomach and all over my body.
Since then, I have been on drugs and that has made me a regular visitor
to the hospital for post-natal treatment.
“It’s painful. If I had known, I would
have gone to a private hospital because even when I had my twins; a boy
and a girl, I wasn’t this sick. All through the time I was on that
chair, it was as if I was dying because all the parts of my body were
going numb. I had a backbreaking delivery, so, to deny me of a quality
rest was simply wicked.
“In fact, the nurses told me that
someone stood up for me so I had to stand up for someone else. It was
during a brief interaction with other women on my way out of the ward
that they told me it was a norm because of the crowd and the inadequate
bed space.”
Adesina’s experience highlights what
pregnant women go through in this all-important hospital, where women
who had just been delivered of their babies are told, sometimes
compelled, to vacate the bed and sit on plastic chairs so that other
pregnant women in the queue could be admitted.
As the only main General Hospital in the
area, catering for the health needs of residents of this part of Lagos,
including Ogba, Ojodu, Agege, Abule Egba and many others from
neighbouring towns in Ogun State, including Agbado, Sango, Mowe, Ibafo,
among many others, the number of patients, especially pregnant women,
that besiege the hospital almost on a daily basis is often enormous.
On entering the hospital, the maternity
is about the only new building, standing gigantically on the left side
of the premises. It comprises emergency ward, children ward and four
other maternity wards. Each of the four wards comprises about 16 bed
spaces. But as fascinating as it appears, it appears inadequate to cater
for the number of pregnant women that besiege the hospital daily.
During our correspondent’s visits to the
hospital, the number of pregnant women at the premises was simply
alarming. It was however gathered that the facility receives tens of
pregnant women on daily basis.
This was further evidenced when our
correspondent visited the premises on Thursday, the day set aside for
them. The number of women at the antenatal waiting area was about 100 as
they were being attended to by the nurses.
Due to the enormous pressure on the
hospital, our correspondent observed that pregnant women are constantly
in the queue for bed space to have their babies, and as soon as one is
delivered of her baby, another one would be warming up to take
possession of the bed space. One of the nurses confided in our
correspondent that any woman who had a normal delivery and without
complications would “definitely” be discharged outright because of the
shortage of space.
Ifako as preferred choice for many
The Ifako General Hospital does not
attract such human traffic only because of its location, findings
revealed that the relatively cheap cost of medical care and the
expertise of its medical personnel have made it a preferred choice for
many.
Some relatives in front of the old ward
For example, the cost of registering for
antenatal care in the hospital is about N7,000, which includes the cost
of certain kits that would be made available to the woman before,
during and after delivery. This is largely in sharp contrast to what
obtains in some private hospitals in the area whereby the amount payable
for antenatal care falls between N15,000 and N30,000, which is
considered by many as unaffordable. And in some cases, the payment
continues till the woman is delivered of the baby.
Furthermore, the cost of delivery in the
hospital is also considered as cheap when compared to others. A member
of staff who is privy to the charges said, “If a woman gives birth to a
girl and it’s through normal delivery, it costs N25,000, but if it’s a
boy, the cost is N27,000 and the N2,000 difference is for circumcision.
If the delivery is through Caesarean section, the cost is about
N100,000. It could be more or less. However, if the woman didn’t
register for antenatal care with us, it could be more than that for both
normal delivery and CS. The cheap cost of medical care and availability
of specialists are part of the things that endear the hospital to many
and that is almost becoming a problem because there are too many
people.”
In comparison, when our correspondent
visited some private hospitals in the area to be able to compare their
charges, apart from the fact that there were fewer patients, the cost in
the private hospitals were higher.
Cost of normal delivery in some of the
hospitals range from N30,000 to N45,000 while CS could be as high as
N150,000, depending on the complexity of the situation.
It is worthy of note that the amount payable for delivery is independent of the one paid for antenatal care.
It was also observed that majority of
the patients at the General Hospital were low- and middle-income
earners, who are remunerated based on N18,000 minimum wage. While most
of those at the private hospitals appeared to be above-average citizens,
in terms of income.
Some pregnant women told our
correspondent that the proficiency of the hospital in maternity issues
drew them to it. “And that is why people come from far places to use it.
Even though the idea of telling people to quit the bed and sit on a
plastic chair after delivery has left some people in agony,
complications and unpleasant experiences, people still come here,” a
pregnant woman from Ikorodu told our correspondent.
On occasions when our correspondent
gained access into the wards, it was usually a pitiable atmosphere, as
some women sat on chairs with newly-born babies on their hands, all the
bed spaces were occupied. Due to the constraint of space in the ward,
some had to sit at the entrance and were obviously waiting for their
turn.
On one of such visits that our
correspondent entered the ward, from one end of the ward, one could not
but notice the cries of a new-born. Wrapped in a wool blanket and placed
on a chair beside her mother who was visibly weak and frustrated, the
baby kept crying and was inconsolable.
Findings showed that the mother and
child had been moved to sit on the chair shortly after the delivery
because of an emergency case for which another woman had to be admitted
on the bed.
Endless frustration of patients
The agonising experience of Mrs. Jegede
Josephine can be likened to what Adesina also went through in the same
hospital. She had shunned the private hospital in her area for the Ifako
Ijaye General Hospital so as to save some money. However, she said that
apart from spending more than she expected, she left the hospital in
pains.
Our correspondent met with Josephine in
the premises of the hospital, where she sat under the waiting shed,
fanning herself and pampering her twins on the Tuesday afternoon while
on a visit for treatment for post natal care. She was apparently still
recuperating. She said that despite the fact that she had a laborious
delivery of her set of twins, few hours after, she was asked to stand up
from the bed and sit on the chair pending her discharge “so as to admit
another person.”
She added, “I was delivered of my babies
around 7pm. About five hours later, a woman was rushed in and all the
beds were occupied, so, I was told to stand up and use the chair so they
could admit the woman who had an emergency, because other women in the
ward were either close to delivery or were delivered of their babies
after me.
“Eventually, I had to stand up and sit
on the chair by the entrance while they quickly rushed the woman in. I
sat on that plastic chair for hours. I couldn’t even sleep very well. I
had to be moving up and down because my legs and some parts of my body
were getting numb until a nurse gave me a cloth that I laid on the
floor. Then, they laid my babies on a piece of thick cloth on the floor
beside me. I was terrified.
“I felt like crying with what I was
going through and seeing my babies on the floor, and that was how we all
slept till the following morning. As early as possible, I made sure I
was discharged and I went home to rest. If I have to conceive again,
this is the last place I will come to because I heard that is the way it
has always been in this hospital because of space problem.
“In fairness to them, it’s not entirely
their fault. They just need to save lives and help those in labour and
since there is no adequate bed space, they have to find a way, just that
some women who are not strong might end up with some post-natal
complications, and that is I why I’m here for treatment.”
Josephine said even though she was
constrained to stand up because of the situation of the person being
brought in to take over her bed space, she had yet to recover from the
trauma she suffered from the development, saying she could have been
moved to another ward just to sleep instead of leaving her and her
babies to sit on the chair.
In Ifako hospital, pregnant women dread ‘Nigeria’
While women with natural delivery go
through such a terrifying experience, the experience of those (pregnant
women) who go through caesarean section does not seem better. Findings
showed that usually, three days after the operation, in order to create
space for others to be admitted, such women would be moved to the old
two storey building, popularly known as ‘Nigeria’ for their recovery.
But ‘Nigeria’, which is behind the new
edifice, called ‘London,’ is dreaded by most pregnant women, especially
those who have been admitted there before, and the main reason for the
reluctance is the swarm of mosquitoes in the building. The wards
reserved for such pregnant women were labelled Annex one and two on the
ground floor.
Due to the bed space shortage, women in
this hospital are either compelled to sit on the chair (for normal
delivery) or transferred to Nigeria, where mosquitoes roam freely.
Mrs. Emmanuel Sefunmi bemoaned her
experience in the hospital in a chat with our correspondent. She said
after she was operated upon to have her baby, she was moved to ‘Nigeria’
after three days in the ward so that other people could make use of the
bed.
She said, “In Nigeria, I saw hell. The
mosquitoes there were just too many. It was as if they were on a special
assignment. I and my baby left that place with malaria symptoms and
since then, we’ve been treating malaria. The hospital looks very
attractive, and no doubt many people prefer to use it, but some of the
experiences here are just painful.
“Assuming I was left in the ‘London’
maternity ward, I wouldn’t have had malaria because the place is safe
and healthy, but that ‘Nigeria’ is something else, especially with the
issue of mosquitoes.
“And what I went through is the same
with what many other persons go through because there is no enough bed
space. Once they see that you are getting better and you are able to
move, you are on your way to ‘Nigeria’ because other people are
waiting.”
Interestingly, as much as patients dread
‘Nigeria’, there is a suitable alternative for those who can afford it.
Findings showed that there is a private ward in the new building where
people who went through CS can be admitted for a higher fee, especially
those who don’t want to go to ‘Nigeria.’
A nurse, who spoke to Saturday PUNCH on
the condition of anonymity for the fear of recrimination, said the cost
of staying in the private ward is about N2,800 per day after paying a
certain amount.
“And the place is fitted with items of
comfort, just that it is not everybody that can afford it. But for those
who can, it is a good place to be after delivery,” the nurse added.
Beyond the rather painful experience of
pregnant women in the hospital, patients queue and sit endlessly to be
attended to, while some other people who visit the hospital have had to
go back and look for alternatives because of the shortage of bed space
in some other wards in the hospital.
No doubt, the hospital buildings are
modern and very appealing, but beyond the aesthetics, the hospital is in
dire need of expansion and improved service delivery from the health
care providers, to forestall the volume of avoidable pains and
lamentations emanating from it, occasioned by the inadequate bed space.
Suffering in the midst of plenty
Notably, beside the hospital is an
uncompleted stadium occupying a large expanse of land. Some of the
patients and visitors to the hospital wondered why the hospital should
be starved of space while an uncompleted stadium that had not been put
into maximum use would boast of better space.
They, however, called on the state
government to look for ways to expand the hospital and build more
general hospitals in other areas to reduce the pressure.
One of the nurses said, “We are
overwhelmed by the crowd and that is why in our maternity ward, people
are discharged as soon as it’s safe to do so. Sometimes, people come
from Mowe, Ibafo, and even Ikorodu. It’s that serious. So, government
needs to help us to help the people.”
When confronted with some of the issues
raised concerning the hospital, the Lagos State Commissioner for Health,
Dr. Jide Idris, told our correspondent on the telephone that the
government was working to improve the health care system in the state.
He explained that government was aware
that some of its heath facilities had been overwhelmed due to the influx
of patients and inadequate health facilities across the state, but
noted that more health care centres would be created to adequately cater
for people’s health needs.
He added, “I don’t have the details of
the situation in the hospital, but on a general note, we are focusing on
increasing people’s access to medical care in all dimensions. We would
also make sure that facilities that are not functioning optimally are
maximised. That is why we are working on boosting our primary health
care system to take care of such preliminary cases.
“No doubt, we have more people than the
facilities available, so, we will create more centres to adequately
serve parts of Lagos that have not been covered, and the quality of
health care will also be improved upon. So, I will get details of that
hospital and deal with it appropriately.”
When asked about the poor attitude of
some health workers to patients, Idris promised that the situation would
be addressed, but noted that it would be a continuous exercise.
He added, “I agree with you that it
(health workers’ relationship with patients) is one other area that we
need to address, and in addressing that, we have to find out the causes
and work on them. The primary objective is for patients to be treated
with respect, but unfortunately, some of our health workers have not
imbibed that. On this, we are going to focus more on attitudinal change.
It is not something we can do overnight. It has to be done
continuously.
“Another thing we would do is to teach
them about this vital issue right from when they are in medical school,
so that this attitude can be properly inculcated into them. I do agree
it’s a major problem that we need to address and we will address it.”
