WHAT IS THE FATE OF THE COMMON IF A COLLEAGUE IS TREATED THIS WAY
I am writing to notify all appropriate regulatory body of the injustice my husband and myself suffered at the hands of the medical personnel at Maitama General Hospital. It should be noted that I and my husband are Registered Nurses and that he is part of the Abuja Covid-19 front-line response team. Hubby came home after 2 months of been away from his family. Knowing this will provide a better context for the occurred incidence that is outlined below.
About a few minutes past 4 am on Saturday 16th of May 2020, I woke my husband to eat Sahur and pray, but he was too tired to pray and I served him in bed. However on getting to him, he complained of breathing difficulties, he said and I recall: “Babe, I don’t know how am feeling, I am feeling weak‼️, I am short of breath‼️, I am tired!! Please call my colleague (Luca) and request that he organised for me to be moved to a nearby hospital with the response team ambulance. He stopped talking immediately and was having wheezing respiration with ceasing of breath.
Immediately, I called Luca who assured me that it will be handled and told me that he will also notify their co-ordinator, Mrs. Ojo. Soon after, Mrs. Ojo called my husband’s phone and I explained the situation. It was taking too long so I called on my neighbors for help. They suggested that we move him out of our estate to hasten rendezvous with the incoming ambulance and we moved him in a private car to Nyanya. During all this time he was still showing the symptoms and I performing, mouth to mouth respiration, CPR and administering inhaler to ease his symptoms. Luca was able to locate us at Nyanya under bridge with the ambulance. The response team took over and it should be noted that they were fully geared up in their PPE. However, I stayed with my husband and continued with the CPR and mouth to mouth respiration even as the ambulance sped off to Maitama General Hospital.
To hasten admission and treatment at the hospital, Mrs. Ojo had recruited Dr. Akerele’s help to notify the hospital of our inbound ambulance and the situation of my husband. On arrival at the hospital, his sample was taken for COVID 19 testing while we waited to be attended to. After about 20 minutes of waiting in the ambulance, some members of staff of the hospital emergency unit gathered near the emergency ward’s entrance to gaze without lifting a finger to help. Luca then informed Mrs. Ojo of the situation and she had to call again to get them to attend to us even though they were aware of our arrival.
Thankfully, a doctor in blue plain later came to the ambulance, but instead of helping she only to deliver the shocking bad news. She said that they don’t have PPE to attend to my husband and they are unwillingly to risk attending to him because he was part of the COVID 19 response team and therefore represents a suspected case. After hearing this heart-wrenching news, Luca offered PPE and I pleaded with her to at least administer first aid in the ambulance, however, she declined and asked us to take him somewhere else. She insisted that we leave because they don’t have an isolation room in Maitama General Hospital even if they admit him. To offer some form of assurance, we told her that he had done a test 10 days earlier that was negative, but still she was having none of it and insisted we took our leave.
After this, Luca informed Mrs. Ojo who suggested we once again move him to the National Hospital that she will meet up with us there. However, while in transit to the National Hospital, I noticed my husband snoring. I was surprised and initially thought I was daydreaming. I checked his pulse and it was normal. Also, the wheezing respiration had ceased and his breathing had normalized.
By the time we got to the hospital, he was already awake and alert. He commented that He just needed to be nebulized, that he was okay now. Even though they agreed to help at the National hospital, they left him in the ambulance for over an hour. He was later moved in but no one moved close to administered anything, though a consultant later reviewed his case and signed off on his discharge by 4 pm the same day. He was left in the hands of God and not everyone will be this lucky..
I am baffled and ashamed as a health worker myself to think that this might be what the masses might be facing at various health facilities all because of COVID 19 pandemic. The question remains that had it been that I wasn’t experienced enough to administer CPR and mouth to mouth respiration, what would have happened to my husband? Also why did the personnel at the hospital refuse to help at all? Not even to administer simple first aid. Is being a front liner a death sentence? I am imploring all regulatory bodies to look into this incident, because I believe its highly unfair.
Thank you COVID 19 response team Abuja
Thanks to my neighbors, truly your neighbor is your first family.
Thanks to pele, u are a true friend to him
Hammed-Adio Zainab Adenike
RN , RPN
