I am not a regular visitor to the hospitals. I mostly visit hospitals when my loved ones need my support to get treated in one way or the other. On those few occasions that I visited, I have had good and bad experiences but the former takes the lead.
The experience I had with an impressive healthcare delivery was when my father was ill. He had been sick for some months. He was hospitalized in a hospital that treated him for a few months before he was referred to a bigger hospital when his case became critical.
The hospital complained that he was supposed to have been referred on time and not wait till such a period of critical health condition. They swung into action immediately to revive my dad who was unconscious. He regained consciousness and took some drugs and ate his food.
The hospital provided all that were required to commence the treatment even before we made payments for them.
After two days of intensive care, my father's health wasn't improving. The doctor advised us that the only viable solution to the problem was to amputate his right leg, which had a damaging injury. I consulted my dad and he objected to amputation. I told the doctor and they continued with the treatment but we were told that the chance of survival was slim.
In the evening of the following day, my dad gave up the ghost. The whole team that took care of him commensurate with us. The doctor ordered the pharmacy to refund us the money for the drugs that hadn't been administered. It was a rare kind gesture and I will forever remain grateful to them for doing their best to save my father's life.
I was impressed with the system.
On the other hand, my wife gave birth to our son about a year ago. He marked his first birthday last month.
My experience in the hospital when he was born was more than disappointing.
My wife and I arrived at the hospital at about 2 am when labor began. The midwife immediately requested for the hospital bag and she swung into action. I was outside the hospital panicking and praying for the safety of my wife and baby.
The labor continued till dawn and when all efforts to make the birth natural proved abortive, a scan was recommended. After the scan, it was discovered the only option was to undergo a C-section. I obliged and signed the consent form.
I was called at the accounts section to settle the bill. I paid the half of the money immediately and promised them to pay the balance the following day. At about noon, the operation was conducted successfully.
My wife was brought to the ward from the theater and the baby handed over to me. At this point, I was the only one with my wife. I relocated to the town just six months earlier and the only relative (my wife's cousin) that we have in the town was away in another city writing an examination.
She called her friend to come and help us out with the care of the baby. While I waited for her to come, the nurses left me with the baby in the ward without any concern about how the baby would be bathed. It was late in the evening that the woman that I was expecting arrived and that was when my baby was bathed and properly clothed. I was frustrated and I imagined what would have been my fate if nobody showed up that day. The whole hospital left me like that without any iota of empathy.
The following evening, my wife noticed that her drip finished in the afternoon and another one ought to have been fixed but the nurses didn't. I approached them to inquire and I got the shock of my life. I was told that the treatment was stopped because I hadn't paid the balance of the bill and no one cared to ask me. I was furious. I nearly caused a scene at the medical director's office.
I was in pain because the money was in my account since the morning of that day but I wasn't settled to even think of paying the money in the accounts office. I would have done that easily if they had reminded me instead of stopping the treatment of a woman with fresh stitches. The safety of my wife was of no concern to them. I paid the money immediately and the treatment resumed.
I was discussing with the nurse on night duty about what could have brought complications to my wife before C-section was advised and carried out. She gave me another shock. She told me that the midwife that handled my wife's labor prematurely busted her water before time. The fluid was exhausted before the child could turn and position himself properly in the womb. I shed tears especially when I remembered how my wife was in pain for a long time.
The negligence of the hospital didn't stop there. They didn't check the baby to know how he was fairing. My mother-in-law, who had arrived the second day, and I took the baby to another hospital, a primary healthcare facility, to collect BCG vaccine. It was at the point of administering the injection to the baby that the nurse looked at the eyes and advised us to treat jaundice before collecting the vaccine.
We returned back to the hospital where my wife was still recuperating. The hospital insisted that nothing was wrong with my son. They accused the nurse who refused to administer BCG vaccine on him as someone that didn't know what she was saying.
My wife's cousin who had been away for an examination finally came. She shouted when she examined the baby's eyes. She immediately took us to the hospital where she was working as a nurse for proper care.
A test was carried out and it was discovered that the bilirubin level was above the acceptable limits. My son was put under phototherapy for about 23 hours before another test confirmed that the bilirubin has lowered to acceptable levels.
We went back to the primary healthcare center to collect the BCG vaccine before returning home.
It was a hell of an experience but I thank God that after everything my wife and our son were safe.