From Segun Babatunde in Bauchi (03/02/2021)
The Chief Medical Director(CMD)of the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa Teaching Hospital(ATBUTH), Bauchi, Dr Yusuf Bara Jibrin has debunked allegations by some residents of the state that some doctors neglect their duties which is among the factors responsible for the death of some patients at the teaching hospital, saying no doctor is happy to see a patient die that could have been saved by prompt medical attention.
The Chief Medical Director who stated this yesterday when a committee known as the League of friends of ATBUTH, paid a courtesy visit to the leadership of the Nigeria Union of Journalists(NUJ), at the Press centre Bauchi, said that some patients die due to lack of funds, pointing out that 50 percent of patients that come to the hospital cannot afford to pay their medical bills.
According to him, “You will write drugs for a patient to buy and sometimes they will not buy the drugs until two hours later because of no money. Sometimes, they will have to source for the money by selling their valuables to raise that money.
“If you say you assist one person, then others too will take advantage of that and it is not possible to assist everybody . I am a consultant, I know what we as doctors are experiencing.If there is a case of death in the hospital, the doctor was on call that day will not sleep because he has to give explanations to the panel of the hospital, what happened that resulted to that person’s death”
“Attending to the needs of patients in the hospital can be very demanding to the extent that some doctors usually collapse, some even die of sudden death because they don’t have the time to take care of themselves.It does not mean that doctors will not do their work, because the are the ones that choose to become doctors”
“The work of doctor can be challenging, sometimes you don’t even have time for your family, so, it is not true that doctors at the ATBUTH neglects their duties. However, if it is discovered that a doctor deliberately neglects his duty which resulted to the death of a patient, an investigation will launched into the case and if found guilty, that doctor will be punished accordingly.The doctor can even lose his certificate if there is any case of negligence on his part” he said
Earlier, the Chairman of the ATBUTH League of friends,Nuhu Adamau Jumna sais that the aim of the courtesy visit was to intimate the NUJ on the existence of the League, it’s functions and achievements recorded over the years.
He said that the League was established 10 years ago when the State Specialist hospital was taken over by the federal government with the intention of making it a teaching hospital, adding that in the past,people were not patronising the hospital because of misinformation.
In his response, the State NUJ Chairman, Comrade Umar Sa’idu thanked the league for partnering with the NUJ, assuring that the media will educate the people of the state on it’s activities. END