WE are living in a fast world where events pass in the speed of light without taking notice. Who has ever thought of patients in our hospitals and what the medical professions go through.
I recently learned during my tour of Muhimbili National Hospital and Muhimbili Orthopaedic Institute that there is more than what the eye can see.
When people even leaders visit the two hospitals they hardly get to know what the management is grappling with, especially when dealing with patients who are either deserted by their families or even don’t have anywhere to go.
According to MOI records there are 19 patients who have different medical conditions in various wards who have either no relatives visiting them or deserted by their families.However, the acting Executive Director of MOI, Dr Samuel Swai has explained that there were many cases whereby some patients were reluctant to leave the hospital.
He explains that the first category of patients who are deserted by their families and have nowhere to go are those with severe spinal injuries. “Such patients get severe injuries including head and spine injuries which is more from motorbike accidents,” he explained.
He cited the second category to be of those patients who have tumour with life threatening conditions and probably with no possibility of cure or recovery.
“First of all such patient sometimes are not accepted by the family, and these patients can stay in the ward for six or eight months or even a year,” he said.
It is clear according to him, this is prevalent especially if the ailment is incurable and most often asking families to care for such patients with terminal condition is very difficult and complicated.
The third category is made of those patients with mental problem and minor injuries, which Dr Swai said falls under the patients who are left in the ward by their relatives.
Even if they are attending clinic from home, once their condition flare up and may be injured if brought to the hospital they are sometimes abandoned, he said.
“Once the relatives come here they say it’s good, there is someone to take care of them, so they just abandon them,” he added. While the Muhimbili Orthopaedics Institute (MOI) has continued to show its compassion to the patients who are destitute supporting them to get treatment and other basic needs, it appears that some families and patients have continued to take advantage and abuse such privileges.
The Sunday News reporter who was visiting MOI to establish to what extent patients were abandoned by their relatives, was able to establish the root cause of some complications that face the medical profession as well as social welfare staff.
MOI social welfare officer has said that it was not ethical for them to just remove the patient from the ward without following the procedures. These patients who don’t want to leave have some constraints and part of our job is to look for the solution and not to compound more problems to these patients who are destitute.
“It is difficult to persuade a person who has lost hope to leave the hospital, because there is no other way for them to survive outside the hospital facilities,” said a patient who was deserted by the family.
He exclaimed : “where do you want me to go, out there into hell,” when contacted to give his opinion on the reason why he does not want to leave. There were also two other patients who were not ready to leave the wards, but since they are cooperative and are not psychologically disturbed the medical staff in both MOI and MNH find it easier to support them.
“Despite their insistence to remain in the Ward, these two patients have not been fussy,” said a social welfare officer who accompanied this reporter in the wards. Some nurses have expressed concern that if the patients are not cooperative it becomes difficult for them to carry out their duties and responsibilities.
“For instance there is a case of a patient who leaves the ward without permission and we don’t know where the patient goes which is a contravention of ward regulations and it is risky to keep such a patient in the ward,” said the concerned nurse. She was referring to the case where a patient decides to leave the ward, without informing them, which is rare to happen but it’s a huge risk.
Therefore if the medical practitioners are working under stress it is easy for them to make mistakes and cost the patient life. There is a need for our leaders to visit often the facilities and go beyond what the eye can see.
/Daily News.
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