Are patients not entitled to health care on saturdays?

Dear Sanda

 The day was a Saturday and I felt so sick that I decided to visit the Amasaman Municipal Hospital, with the hope of getting medical attention since I was feeling very sick.

Therefore I left home very early to be able to achieve that aim, of been taken care of by a medical professional, in that effect, I left home as early as 5.00 am , all in the hope of leaving there on time so I could get back to my other commitments for the day.

I got to the hospital as early as 5.25 am, and none of the health professionals were at post, and in fact not even the cleaner was around. In spite of what I was met with, I placed my card in the card box and waited for the health attendant on duty, he came at 6:00 am, by then I was in the queue with another young lady.

During the moment I was attended to, a pregnant woman of about 7 months old came to the hospital, she told the guy that she had problems with her belly, he advised her to take a sit, promising to attend to her in due time, that was when  I told him to kindly attend to her in my place, which  he did so without complaining.

In all this, the cleaner had not started his work yet, in fact, he began at 7.20 am , but surprisingly he had been there even before I arrived. After taking my card, I went to get my vitals checked and again, Nurses were not present. The nurses came after the cleaner had finished his work.

 I was hoping the pregnant woman will be attended to on time, but Sanda it wasn’t so. The lady was left there for hours, as at 9:53 am that I decided that I should really report to you, the poor pregnant woman was still there, unattended.

Doctors were there, in their rooms attending to other patients, in my little knowledge, it was just corruption been displayed at its best, unfortunately it was to patients who had no one to complain to, in my quest to seek knowledge, I asked a nurses why patients were not been attended to, the nurse told me Saturdays are only for emergencies.

Emergencies?!!!!!!, the pregnant woman in pain was an emergency case on its own , the poor lady was still in the hospital pews in pain, and the fact that I haven’t fainted yet didn’t mean my case was not an emergency or I was not in pain.

When I got there in the early hours, I witnessed when a doctor broke the news of death to a certain family, you should have been there to see what really happened, but that didn’t move them to take care of patients in the OPD.

I have never been a hospital faithful, I stayed at home with my pain in the hope of getting better and managing my pain, staying in the queues at the hospital only had the tendency of making you getting sicker. The pathetic aspect of meeting with some of this doctors was whiles you are in pain, you see them fidgeting with their phones.

They end up prescribing just any medicine for you, which will not lessen or take your pain away, because they are not concentrating on what you are telling them, they are just using all sort of social networks.

As at 10:01 in the morning, the supposed doctors on morning duty have not reported to duty yet, the hospital looked less busy with patients waiting, whiles nurses were heartily charting and clapping their hands. And the annoying aspect was I saw a doctor attending to patients but that was because they knew some people there or hands had already exchanged hands.

Our tax payer’s money is used to pay these people and they just go on strike and even when they report to duty, some of them don’t do what is expected of them. But they go on unnecessary strikes demanding unreasonable increment which some of them know they do not deserve any.

 

It is this same crop of doctors we have in private hospitals and they give up their 180% best for patients , these I believe  is because they have no respect for the government hospitals . They do whatever they want in these state owned clinics, nobody has taken to court for negligence before.

But am patiently and positively praying for that day that one Ghanaian will take them to the court for negligence and its related charges.  That day is coming, and I pray it will be very soon.

 

In the meantime, while patients were waiting, nurses had created a gossip group and laughing heartily, very irritating. I didn’t have a choice than to live the hospital without any medical doctor staring at me, although I was in real pain and that was when I understood why the politicians took their cases abroad, because they know the medical system they have provided for our country is of inferior quality, which they wouldn’t want to put themselves through incompetent hands, Understandable.

 But the poor Ghanaian will always end up having a defect which is highly preventable because of a foolish mistake by a supposed medical official.

 It’s hard we have to live in a country where its founder had dreams which was achievable and\or are still achievable, but don’t seem to find its way to the spot light. Nkrumah is dead, and Ghana died with Nkrumah the vision he had for Ghana has not being achieved. My only prayer is that supervisors in these government hospitals will be up and running so doctors who do not work will be brought to book.

You should have seen my excitement when I heard on radio that nurses allowance might be taken away from them, in fact I was so happy that I asked God to make it a reality, for a simple reason, once the money stops coming, we will have committed officials to serve us, not those who are there for the small chop chop.

 I will end my letter here, hoping that I will write another letter that will serve as a road map for our country, on how to help better our government hospitals.