Contributed by: Nicholine Akou
Health issues are delicate things that are not supposed to be taken for granted. Those going in for such jobs should be very conscious of what they do. Some people die not because their sicknesses are incurable but because either there are no doctors or nurses to take care of them at the right time. Due to absenteeism and negligence, a young lady almost lost her child. This incident happened on 15th of October 2017 at the Primary Health Care of South West Region of Cameroon.
According to what this lady says, she left the house when she felt the pains of labor but on reaching the hospital, there was no doctor or nurses to attend to her. She felt intense contraction pain and could not even think of any solution at that moment. She was accompanied by her younger sister of 12 who could not possibly think of taking her to another hospital. This poor lady struggled to no avail. There were phone numbers written on the door of the ward. She instructed her younger sister to dial them. The first number the younger sister dialed did not go through. They kept on calling and the second number responded and it happened to be a young lady who. She felt relieved when the lady told her she was a nurse but her world shattered again when the lady naughtily told her she is not the one on duty and equally told her to try the next number and dropped the call. She then tried the next number and another nurse responded and assured her she will show up in not less than ten minutes.
Time passed and the baby seemed to be coming out. She felt greater pains while struggling to make sure the baby does not fall off should it come. She waited again and again for the nurse but to no avail, the ten minutes she promised passed, 15, 30, 45 minutes and she was not likely to come. Now in deeper pains, words could not even come out from her mouth and she used the sign of her hand to instruct her younger sister to call again. When her younger sister called again, the unconscious nurse told her she was about to take a bike.
The labor pains were so severe she could barely have a tear drop off her eyes. She sat and asked her younger sister to open a loin under her legs which she did and she pushed and delivered a baby girl. She remained on the floor waiting for the nurse because the younger sister could not section the umbilical cord. Few minutes later the baby started shaking profusely and the lady cried for fear that she might lose her baby.
She further explained that thanks to God the nurse finally came in about an hour after her delivery. She took the baby and carried out some medical checkup on her. The following day she explained to people what had happened to her and they could not believe that such an incident could be possible in a renowned health center like such. When this nurses were questioned, they gave lousy excuses.
This is not the only birth related incident in our society. It happens day in day out and nothing is being done to remedy the situation. Consciousness in clinics, health centers or hospitals should be an obligation because live is paramount and has no duplicate. What if this lady had lost her life, baby or even both? Remember what happened to Monique Koumateke in Laquintini hospital Douala.
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