My phone, however, rang at 7:53 p.m., where I was told the doctor on duty at the private hospital, rather than show up, sent a message to my family friend that he had read the history of the patient and it was not a case they could handle and he would not want to waste their time. Thus, he asked them to proceed to either the state hospital or another private facility that he recommended.
My anger shot up immediately after the daughter told me over the phone, and I asked, 'Did the doctor see or evaluate the patient before he verbally referred?' And the response was a no. I made several calls to the hospital's contact, but the call was not picked up. Though I was about twenty minutes drive away, I went straight to the hospital and asked to see the doctor on duty after introducing myself as a doctor.
I met the young doctor in his consulting room with another fellow who obviously was not a patient and a 42" television mounted on the wall showing a football match. I was very furious, but I tried to curtail my disgust. After I introduced myself, I asked if he had evaluated the patient before referral, and he admitted in the negative. Simply, I told him to evaluate and give any first aid necessary or available. The painful part was that the federal teaching hospital in the state was experiencing an industrial action, thus limiting our choices of hospitals to visit, and the state government hospital was a no-no as I worked there up until 2021, and hardly do patients get a space, especially with very limited professional personnel.
All this while, I had not even seen the patient, but immediately she was wheeled to the doctor's consulting room, I suspected it was a case of cerebrovascular accident, bearing in mind the knowledge of the co-morbidities of the patient with the current signs and symptoms of hemiparesis and slurred speech. The other fellow (who eventually realized he was a doctor also) I met in the consulting room ended up attending to the patient, and a tentative diagnosis of hemorrhagic stroke was made. Further quick evaluations were made, such as the blood pressure and blood sugar levels, which were on the high side. I asked that a referral be generated to the tertiary facility pending Monday when the industrial action would be called off while we tried to manage the stroke case in another private hospital between Saturday night and Monday morning. A computerized tomography scan was done on Sunday, and features were suggestive of ischemic stroke.
My anguish and furious state circled around the flimsy and verbal referral the doctor on duty made without even seeing the patient. Who refers a patient based on history read from previous hospital visits? When I got to the consulting room, the doctor was neither busy nor seeing a patient; rather, a big TV screen was mounted on the wall of the consulting room with a match ongoing. My intention was to meet with the medical director and take up the case with the doctor. I know doctors are limited in Nigeria, but professionalism, ethics, and oaths sworn must be preserved. Eventually, I heard the doctor who referred verbally had two cases of bleeding per vagina he was handling, and my response was yet antagonistic; he was not busy when I got there, and how could he arrest two bleeding PVs within the space of twenty to thirty minutes? Also, what happened to empathy and proper communication? If he had explained further that he was busy with some other emergencies (even if not true), it may have sounded more reasonable than being turned away when the patient needed the services of the hospital she had used for forty years.
It is no doubt that we make mistakes in the medical profession, but we must retain our oaths of professionalism while discharging our duties.
I have said to a few ears that cared to listen that every family residing in Nigeria should endeavor to have a medic in the family or handy, as the access to quality healthcare is becoming more difficult as the days pass by.
My patient is relatively stable now at the tertiary facility in the state and hoping and praying for a quick recuperation.