By Ahmad Deedat, RN
PRO, have you ever visited the diphtheria treatment center at IDH? I suppose not!
“…staff are not willing to put in their best since the stoppage of the allowances despite being Kano Ministry of Health Workers,” said Samira Sulaiman on August 24, 2024.
I’m perplexed! How could someone hiding in the cozy confines of their office mislead the public with evidence-less and fact-less data? You’re spreading a forlorn demeanor. Your gesture demonstrates that you’ve never been to this center, and your claim is certainly contrary to reality.
Staff have never been part of your challenging situations in diphtheria management. I made it clear in my previous write-up, which is largely concerned with IDH – DTC, that staff were drastically reduced after the exit of NGOs. Yet, the remaining staff are primarily engaged with the state government in different facilities. This was a careless indifference demonstrated towards the staff: increased workload and decreased manpower. Working at two different places at a time – a detail the PRO forgot to mention.
Besides, as a gesture of commitment and dedication, the staff have never complained bitterly about their welfare; all complaints tendered were patient-centered.
During the recent national protest, a curfew was set and there were restrictions on commercial transportation. Since the first day of the protest, the hospital’s ambulance was faulty. Nevertheless, some of the staff at IDH – DTC did not hesitate to navigate the dangerous streets on foot just to make it to the center; some of us trekked a ‘hundred Naira’ distance on foot just to care for our patients. I wonder, if it weren’t for a private vehicle, would you have trekked a similar distance on foot, navigating dangerous streets regardless of the time of day or night? I doubt it. Few professionals other than nurses and doctors would do that, certainly not a ‘PR’!
Nevertheless, the patients and their caregivers could provide a better account if you’d care to investigate. They would clearly narrate situations where a nurse worked night duty and could not rest until around 12 noon the following day. That same nurse would then return on the same day for another night shift. The work is exhausting! I doubt your role as a PR comes anywhere near the stress health workers face.
“State Ministry of Health employed 15 doctors for the volunteers.”
Agreed, doctors were employed and deployed to MMSH – DTC. They wouldn’t work in DTC and EPU – a condition they set after assuming duty, which the HOD – EPU boldly disagreed with. They were to report to the HMB, ultimately choosing a facility they preferred, thereby abandoning the DTC.
“…also deployed other staff who were being paid incentives by MSF to the diphtheria unit.”
Who are these other staff?
Based on my knowledge, before the exit of MSF, over 50 professional nurses were running shifts at MMSH – DTC alone. That number drastically reduced to barely half after their exit. In other departments, the remaining staff are barely one-third of the former numbers.
“Drugs and consumables worth millions of Naira were procured and distributed to diphtheria centers.”
This is not factual. You could rephrase it to ‘worth hundreds of thousands, perhaps thousands of Naira’ for a more accurate depiction of reality. Of all the medications routinely prescribed in diphtheria management, only Erythromycin tablets are provided for free at IDH; not even consumables are free. Recently, after exhausting efforts by the team, a negligible quantity of drugs was provided.
“Feeding of diphtheria patients and their relatives continued.”
This is misleading! At IDH – DTC, feeding of patients and caregivers ceased with the departure of the NGOs. Patients had to prioritize whether to buy food or drugs. As I mentioned in my previous piece, “we have lost so many patients to hypoglycemia that we could not count.” With free food, you wouldn’t expect tragic deaths due to hunger.
“Staff allowances were paid for 3 months.” An allowance that’s a mere token. At IDH – DTC, some staff received allowances a few days after ALIMA left in June. There was no substantial explanation. Since then (over 80 days), none of the staff has received a single kobo from the state treasury. Additionally, some staff did not receive the previous allowance, such as the waste manager, who barely gets three square meals a day and was not primarily employed by the government. Tell me, do you expect such a person to commit to a task that doesn’t pay off? He has a family to feed.
“Less than 30 patients died of diphtheria in the whole of Kano State in August.”
Forgive me, but this is false. Not even the doctors or nurses who sit with the patients all day could provide the actual figures. I stand firm on my assertion that over fifty patients died in August alone, perhaps reaching seventy or more. I witnessed almost twenty mortalities in 60 hours – 5 night shifts, 12 hours per shift. What do you expect of the remaining shifts for the rest of the month? I don’t remember the ministry employing a data clerk to provide statistics. The person providing the statistics rarely shows up, and when he does, he simply asks and leaves without accounting for the actual data. Previously, at IDH – DTC, the man responsible for statistics was employed by the NGOs and is not primarily employed by the state. After the NGOs’ exit, specifically ALIMA, he did not receive any official explanation regarding his job and is off the list of staff who received the allowance. Like the waste manager, the data clerk occasionally shows up and voluntarily performs the statistics.
Dear PRO, it is unwise to spread misleading information to the public on such a sensitive issue. This is a matter of life and death. Before defending yourself, ensure your part is played well. There will come a day when the information you provide will be used against you. Prepare for that day; it will certainly come! My ultimate hope is that through my writings, diphtheria will be eradicated.
