By Garba Abdullahi Bagwai
Patients at Dawakin Kudu General Hospital in Kano State have resorted to open defecation due to the poor condition and inadequate number of toilet facilities at the hospital.
The situation has raised concerns about a possible outbreak of cholera and other diseases, as several soakaway reservoirs within the hospital premises are reportedly damaged or overflowing.
Patients are said to dispose of sanitary pads and other human waste in and around the deteriorating facilities considered detrimental to health.
Inside the labour room, only a few beds are reportedly functional, with some fitted with worn-out mattresses. Some wards also have leaking roofs, further worsening conditions for patients and healthcare workers.
The hospital environment is similarly affected by overgrown grass and accumulated refuse, with inadequate cleaners making it difficult to maintain proper sanitation.
A staff at the hospital who pleaded anonymity said over 300 patients reportedly visit the hospital daily, but he confirmed that there are a lot of challenges bedevilling the hospital which include insufficient manpower and poor conditions which compromise the quality of service delivery to the patients.
“Though the government has promised to intervene, and we are hoping that work to re structure the hospital will commence soon,” the staff member said.
He added that the limited manpower available was being stretched to meet the needs of patients visiting the facility daily.
A caregiver at a maternity unit of the hospital Malam Larai, expressed concern over the poor state of the hospital’s toilet facilities, saying patients often have to improvise.
“There are not enough toilets for us to ease ourselves. Sometimes, we use plastic containe to disposed human west around the dilapidated soakaway or elsewhere within the hospital premises,” he said.
“Look at my hand. I just came back from a market to buy plastic waste for us to use. This is the only alternative. This has
heightened concerns among many patients and staff over sanitation and the risk of disease outbreaks, particularly during the rainy season.”
Efforts to obtain the reaction of the Executive Secretary of the Kano State Health Service Management Board, Dr. Mansur Mudi Nagode were unsuccessful.
Repeated attempts to speak with him were met with apologies from a representative, while calls and text messages seeking his response were not answered.
There are over 48 hospitals in the state under the supervision of health service management board, and each has its own peculiar problems ranging from decayed infrastructure, lack of manpower and poor management system in some hospitals.
Checks showed that about 45 percent of workforce in general hospitals and primary health centers in the state are casual staff following the frequent resignation and brain drain.
Though government is making effort to bridge the gap but the vacuum will take time to fill as, according a source who pleaded anonymity, health sector is in need of no fewer than ten thousand staff which is difficult for the State to employ at once.
Recently, the state government employed some staff at health service management board, but a lot of complaints followed the recruitment exercise with series of allegations.
“We have limited doctors, nurses, midwives, lab scientists, lab technicians as well cleaners in our major general hospitals. Government needs to concentrate on this,” according to a staff working in one of the hospital in the state who asked to hide his name.
