I had an emergency cesarean section while birthing my second child. It was the time when the health care system in my country impressed me greatly. I saw compassionate health care practitioners who cared about the lives of patients; they worked tirelessly to save my life that faithful night, and the memory has stuck in my mind till date. Normally, if a woman is going for an elective CS, there are set-down plans prior to her surgery day. Something like donating blood is a must here in all general hospitals around me in case the mother experiences bleeding during the surgery and other vital things have to be done prior to that day.
I was expecting a natural birth. I was in labor for many hours without good dilation and with severe contractions. The labor lasted for almost 48 hours, and then my strength started failing me. Then one female doctor entered the labor room, checked me and the unborn child, and discovered that the baby was already breathing fast and my water had broken, which is risky for the baby as well. You needed to see how she made a series of calls and invited other doctors who weren't on duty that night to help out. They checked for blood that matches mine in the blood bank but found none. Could you believe they rushed to another hospital nearby to get the blood for me? Even while I told them that my husband could donate, they insisted that it's not a good idea, knowing how tensed my husband was. After they got all the materials I needed for the surgery without paying a dime, the power holding company took the light, and the generator refused to start, we were in total black out there in the theatre after I had taken an injection in my spine for the surgery. To my greatest chagrin, this set of health practitioners started praying for me as I lay in the theater. They prayed for almost 30 minutes before the light was restored, and they continued with the surgery.
Honestly, I was impressed with their concern; it's unlike the government hospital I have used in the past. That same female doctor never failed to check on me daily throughout my stay in the hospital with medical advice on how to recover faster.
The health care sector is one of the most important sectors that shouldn't be overlooked. Despite how bad this sector has gone in my country, there are still great health care practitioners who are kind enough to attend to patients needs.There are many times when my country's health care system impressed me, just like my experience above, but there are times when it disappointed me big time. Just chill; I will tell you about it soon.
You see, my country, Nigeria, has produced great health care practitioners, but they lose them to other countries due to how poor their pay is. They are not well taken care of, and most times they go on strike or protest, yet there is no tangible outcome from all of that. Many doctors and nurses in my country are leaving Nigeria for other countries for greener pastures every now and then. My uncle, who is a neurologist, has been practicing in Nigeria for years with nothing to show for it until he traveled outside the country. It's been one year since he left, and the difference has been clear. What he is being paid over there in one month is his 7-month salary here in Nigeria; upon that, they gave him cute accommodations with other allowances. I bet the Nigerian government hasn't looked into this kind of welfare for our health care practitioners, and that's why they will keep leaving. Talk about health care equipment; we still have a long way to go, and that's why many patients who cannot afford to travel out for their treatment when they can't get such in Nigeria die a painful death.
The one time I got disappointed with the health care system in my country
Sometimes, I wonder if some health care practitioners the government employs are really competent, or perhaps they got the job through shortcut . Just recently, I took my son to the hospital for treatment, and he nearly received the wrong injection if not for the fact that I paid attention to details. Why should a nurse be so reluctant to check my son's folder before dispensing an injection? This was the case, but when I confronted her after observing what she did, she apologized, saying he thought my son was to take one kind of injection. Why think instead of checking? lolz, it was really disappointing, but glad I could step in.
These are my two experiences of the health care system in my country, both the good and the bad. There are many experiences so far, but all in all, I am hopeful that it will get better for us.
This post is in response to the #hivelearners community contest on the topic titled Healthcare: Good or Nah.
