Following the harvest of deaths, in
controversial circumstances, in Kano State and the subsequent confirmed
cases of COVID-19 in the state, some doctors have not been reporting for
work for fear of the unknown while others attend to patients from afar,
citing lack of personal protective equipment (PPE), newsmen have learnt.
The National Coordinator of the
Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19, Dr. Sani Aliyu, had said the
federal government was investigating the reported strange deaths in the
state.
At least 11 persons died at the weekend in Kano within 24 hours.
Among the dead is the regional manager of a first-generation bank, who was said to have been awaiting his COVID-19 test result.
The coordinator of the Kano Technical Response Team for COVID-19, Dr. Tijjani Hussaini, confirmed the deaths.
However, he said the deaths could not be linked to COVID-19 until after the completion of investigations.
Investigation in most of the hospitals
visited by newsmen revealed that the few doctors available were
attending to patients from a far distance.
The doctors also described as inadequate the indemnity money of N3 million for a doctor who lost his life in the course of duty.
It was gathered that the absenteeism of
some doctors at Murtala Muhammed Specialist Hospital, Sir Muhammadu
Sanusi Hospital and Muhammad Abdullahi Wase and other government
hospitals outside the metropolitan was due to lack of
preventive/protective support from the government.
A source at the Murtala Muhammed
Specialist Hospital told newsmen that “some doctors now in most Kano
hospitals do not attend to patients closely, but from far and they often
assign intern students and nurses to do the work for them, especially
in the night.”
The sources said the healthcare workers,
mostly doctors, were afraid to risk their lives amid the plague and
this has disrupted medical services at hospitals.
However, a source close to an
international health organisation working in Kano told Newsmen that a
meeting had been held on the matter and that a letter of complaint would
soon be forwarded to the government to address the issue.
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“This government is very much serious
about this fight and we are optimistic that they will quickly provide
the required working tools for the benefit of the doctors and other
health workers,” the source added.
A public health consultant confided in Newsmen that the N3 million life insurance for a doctor was too small.
He said: “Most of my colleagues are very
much scared; they abandoned their families’ for this fight but our
welfare are still not catered for. We want the government to review our
package including hazard allowances.”
The source added that the state
government has mobilised most of the doctors who specialised in
different fields to the centre for the treatment of COVID-19 patients,
while most of those selected to be part of the exercise decided to stay
back for fear of their safety.
It was also learnt that doctors
attending to patients involved in an accident and other emergency cases
at Accident and Emergency Unit of all the hospitals visited were scared
to treat patients with symptom of high temperature.
According to an investigation, most of
the doctors were posted to isolation centres at Kwanar Dawaki, Muhammadu
Buhari Specialist Hospital and other designated isolation centres in
the state.
The state Governor, Dr. Abdullahi
Ganduje, had said on Saturday that Alhaji Aliko Dangote had promised to
donate 5,000 Personal Protective Equipments (PPE), ventilators and
monitors to the state.
The PPE is part of the doctor’s demand for them to carry out their duties and avoid contracting the virus.
Ganduje, at the media briefing, commended the frontline health workers
for their courage and determination towards fighting the COVID-19
pandemic.