Nigerian Nurses have taken to social Media on Nursingworld Nigeria Facebook and twitter handle to query the quality of care given to their colleagues infected with the deadly ebola virus at the Mainland Hospital Yaba. This is coming on the heels of a second death recorded in the profession amidst the MIRACULOUS recovery of a doctor whom the minister of health confirmed yesterday had been discharged. Nation wide, Nurses have wondered why the media initially reported that a doctor had been infected with the virus and kept mute on the health status of the nursing team that worked with her to attend to the Liberian at First consultant Hospital in lagos. They also found demeaning a post on ebola.org stating that the first nigerian (DOCTOR) to test positive for Ebola virus is now negative, she reported herself EARLY and has immediately resumed supportive care, this post according to the nurses lent credence to the insinuation that the nurses who died did not report EARLY. Majority of the nurses also faulted the blowing out of proportions the news of the infected nurse who traveled to enugu, accusing the media of painting her in black with the intent of dehumanizing the profession. According to reports on Nursingworld Nigeria on the last moments of nurse justina, she confirmed that they were DUMPED THERE TO DIE with little care and SEPERATED in two groups with one group in rooms she called VIP while she and others were in the WARD. Nurses wondered what rationale was used to seperate the patients and who deserved to be in VIP and who didnt? Curiously their suspicion is being played out in neighbouring liberia; In the midst of overwhelming death of nurses there, THREE DOCTORS only were administered doses of the rare experimental drug Zmapp. this preferential treatment must be checkmated by NANNM according to Nigerian Nurses. They opined that in the light of these Nurses deaths and bearing in mind the level of exposure, vulnerability and close contact nurses have with these patients, NANNM should be the one demaning a N100,000 hazard allowance/ life insurance and not the Nigerian Medical Association. Majority of the nurses on the nursingworld Facebook page wondered if NANNM Made any effort to contact her Nurses dying from a national emergency. A post by Nurse Chidi Nwokeme asked Did it ever occur to NANNM to pressure the nigerian government to request for the experimental drug Zmapp. Did NANNM Consider that they had the power to insist that oxygen cylinders be made available as her nurses laid on their dying bed. NANNM must insist on knowing how the 1.9b Naira is expended at national and state level to avert its use being skewed in favour of one life over the other They must scrutinize governments expenditures in funds for ebola fight like the N150million by Dangote and the N100,000million by Tony Elumelu foundation etc. to ensure that Nurses are protected and covered adequately. Another Nurse on the Nursingworld twitter handle (@Nursingworld_Ng) wondered if it would be too much to ask that NANNM visits the quarantine centers to ascertain the facilities on ground to determine the quality and standard of care given to our colleagues in quarantine. Nigerian nurses unanimously insisted that NANNM Must as a matter of urgency demand to know the level of protection of its nurses under the employ of doctors in private facilities. As NMA had demanded of the governemt for PPEs and increased PAY in the government hospital, so also must NANNM insist on same for their nurses in the private hospital settings. Overzealous Matrons whose loyalty have been skewed and aligned with the private medical directors must be warned to protect nurses and minimize improvisation especially in terms of gloves, masks and HAZMAT suits. In life, Justina survived by peanuts paid at first consultant hospital. Even when on the sick bed with ebola infection she was asked what she needed most urgently and she replied MONEY, According to her We dont have anything here and every money we have is finished because we are the ones taking care of ourselves. Justina confirmed she had been stooling for days yet we have not had our bath because there has been no water since yesterday.... At the point of death, She desperately begged for her life, she begged for money, NO NURSE DESERVES TO DIE THAT WAY, NO ONE DOES. Nurse justina could have been any one of us, it could have been either of my two sisters or fiancée whom are both nurses. We owe it to her memory and to the profession to make sure they did not die in vain. Announcing another death of a Nurse would and should not be taking lying low, Time to act is now, it could be anyone of us. In the words of john okiyi We have failed justina, But we must not fail our colleagues and others in quarantine and in the private hospital settings. BY Nwaobi J.C (Fwacn)
Posted on: Mon, 18 Aug 2014 08:16:30 +0000
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