The COVID-19 distraction


COVID-19


IN the last one month, it has been tales of agony, pain and regrets for many people who lost their relatives and loved ones not to the coronavirus, COVID-19, pandemic but rather, what the novel virus has triggered off in terms of mismanagement and poor response to public health across the country.

There is hardly any part of the country that is free from the tales and cries brought about by the deadly disease. For a long time to come, the pandemic would remain a nightmare considering the economic loss and devastation to the entire world.

To date, nobody or authority can speak with certainty on what can be done to curtail coronavirus or when an effective remedy can be found for the pandemic that knows no age, race, status, gender and religion. It is natural to accord great priority and attention to ending COVID-19 and pushing it into the dustbin of history.

It is no surprise that globally, all hands have been on deck to combat our common enemy within the available resources, intellect and political will. Nigeria too has not been left behind in joining forces with international interests to find a lasting solution to the virus that has been spreading like wildfire.

Apart from the public awareness programmes and campaigns at national and state levels, health institutions have become excessively engrossed with COVID-19 to the detriment of other health concerns suggesting that the management of the pandemic has now become a distraction.

Today, what patients face at most private and public health institutions in many parts of the country is outright rejection even when they are not showing symptoms of COVID-19. Public hospitals across the country appear to be guiltier of this professional misconduct than their private counterpart, telling the sick to look elsewhere for treatment because their facilities are being reserved for coronavirus patients!

This abnormal practice and misplaced priority have led to the death of many innocent Nigerians since the index case of coronavirus was recorded in the country last February. Initially, private hospitals were prevented from treating COVID-19 patients for lack of requisite staff such as infectious disease specialists who are trained in infection prevention protocol and use of special equipment.

The affected private hospitals had to suspend their operations to decontaminate facilities and adhere to the tough guidelines reeled out by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, NCDC.

Rejection of sick people by health institutions is not permitted. The code of medical ethics in Nigeria, under professional negligence, provides for the duty of care in which a doctor may be liable for failure to attend to or treat patients promptly as much as for careless treatment. Medical negligence can occur due to the inability to diagnose on time, failure to attend to patients promptly and incompetence in the assessment of patients.

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