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Health calamity rocks Makeni Govt. Hospital No drugs for patients
The only Regional referral hospital in Bombali District Northern Sierra Leone with over (200,000) two hundred thousand people is currently facing acute shortage of essential drugs and medical equipments for patients.
The Regional Medical Superintendent for the Makeni Government Hospital Dr. Ibrahim Bundu in an interview with AWOKO in Makeni has said that the hospital has not received their quota from the central Government through medical stores since 2007.
He said “we have not received a single panadol from the Ministry of Health and Sanitation despite our numerous requests to both the government and development partners.”
There has been nothing visibly done to address the acute shortage of drugs at the hospital and sadly the poor patients are dying with preventable and curable diseases at an alarming rate in the district.
He also lamented that access and affordability to drugs at the dispensary and private pharmacies are beyond the reach of majority of the patients visiting the hospital as prescriptions are normally abandoned for harmful traditional medicines. On the question of trained and qualified health personnel Dr. Bundu said the hospital is seriously constrained with inadequate personnel as there are only three doctors and among them is a Nigerian volunteer, five midwives, two staff nurses and one nurse. “We are over loaded with all types of complicated medical cases at the Makeni Government Hospital and we do not seem to have the required drugs for patients because the shelves at the dispensary are empty,” he explained.
Dr. Bundu also disclosed that some of the patients are being abandoned by their relatives at the their hospital beds because they do not have the required money to buy drugs from pharmacies, as a result patients are painfully dying at their hospital beds. However Dr Bundu explained that the United Nations Fund for Population UNFPA has supported the Makeni Government Hospital Reproductive Health Program Maternity Ward with drugs and other surgical equipments.
He added that, the hospital is only providing pregnant women and children under the age of five with free drugs for maternity cases, while other complicated cases and emergencies are being performed on cost recovery basis and surgeries are done for Le 100,000.00 one hundred thousand Leones.
When our reporter contacted some of the nurses at the hospital they lamented that conditions of service are appalling at the Makeni hospital because incentives are meager and there is inadequate working equipments at the hospital.
At the entrance of the Makeni Government hospital damaged ambulances and other equipments are scattered all over the place and there is a notice at the Medical Doctors office which indicates Registration fees Le 5000.00, Assault cases Le 10,000.00 and for Admission fees it is Le 20,000.00.
The irony facing the Makeni hospital is that there are structures and newly installed blood bank but sadly there are limited drugs and health personnel at the hospital and relevant authorities at the Ministry of Health and Medical stores have been informed but they are yet to take action in saving precious lives of the vulnerable who are living in abject poverty.
By Saidu Bah in Makeni
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