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Long queues at cash points
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New system too slow to cope with large crowd of patients
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Patients wait for hours before treatment
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Hospital promises respite soon
ABUJA – Patients now have to wait in long queues for several hours to receive medical attention at Kubwa General hospital, Abuja following the introduction of new data computerisation for payment and registration procedures.
Some of the patients and their family members were visibly agitated and restless due to long periods of waiting at various cash points to get registered in the computer system when NHO visited the hospital this morning.
For instance NHO also observed that over 150 people were waiting at the paediatric, ante-natal, and registration unit, of the hospital. The three-seater benches with a sitting capacity of 80 persons on the passage way to these units were occupied while many more who could not get a place to sit were seen standing and awaiting their turn to see doctors.
One of the patients at the Paediatric unit, Mrs Grace Azuike, who brought her 5-month old baby said she came to the hospital as early as 7 a.m but was yet to see the doctor as at 12 noon while her baby’s temperature had continued to rise.
“In fact, I can’t believe I will still be waiting up till now to get my card computerised. I already have a card in the hospital but when I came in this morning I was told to get my baby’s card computerised at the cash point. I got there and met a very long queue of other patients waiting”
“It is really frustrating considering the high temperature of my baby. I just hope she won’t convulse before we see the doctor, “she said.
Another patient, Mr Dehinde Akintade,also lamented the high population of patients at the cash points unit either to get their cards computerised or pay for one thing or the other.
He blamed the staff of the hospital for the lackadaisical attitude calling on the need for the staff to be trained on how to use the computer system effectively.
According to him ” though the computer system is a good development, the staff are very slow in typing and when you try to hasten them, they flare up in a very arrogant manner thereby causing a lot of queues at the cash points”
Another patient, Gina Obe, said the long queues is now discouraging people, especially the first timers, going to the hospital.
“Imagine you are just entering and you see a long queue, it will just weaken your spirit. I think this is a problem with all general hospitals and that is why people that can afford it are running to the private ones,” she told NHO.
Many patients were seen murmuring at the registration unit of the hospital as they stood in a long queue. time to time there were arguments and struggles as some people try to jump the queues.
The Chief Medical Director of the hospital, Dr Mohammed Danfulani,in an interview said while they are trying their best in attending to patients, sometimes they are overwhelmed by the large turn out by the crowd
“Patients also need to know that 2or 3 patients can take up the doctor’s attention for hours.
“None of the doctors or nurses comes here to sit down. We are here to attend to patients but some of them are not patient enough. They want us to rush in attending to them when there are people who arrived before them.”
Asked how the hospital is coping with the large crowd, especially with the introduction of the computerisation system, he explained that the new system would help to curb corruption among staff as most of them admit their relations without payment.
“Some of them collect money from patients to either pay for test without entering the amount in the system but the hospital was adequately catering for the patients and have not had an unmanageable crowd in recent times.
According to him, the hospital is not the first to start the development as other others have keyed into the system before now.
“The data computerisation will also help patients from this hospital to another general hospital in the FCT to easily access their folders anywhere.
“We are also making arrangements for additional 3 cash points in the hospital so that patients can easily access the services they needed”
He assured that in the next 6 months, patients can easily walk into hospital to access health care service as there won’t be any hurdles.
“Though, there are resistance from my staff with these new development, with time, they will get used to the system,”
He further added that no patient has been left unattended to in all the units in the hospital as they are working to get better.