Posted on: Sat 30-08-2014

The Chairman of the National Association of Nigerian Nurses and Midwives (FCT chapter), Comrade Muhammad N. Alli says health workers, and nurses in particular, may down tools over government nonchalant approach to their safety in the fight against the dreaded ebola virus disease. Alli alleged that basic protective gears are not provided for nurses to use thereby endangering their lives. He spoke with Assistant Editor Patrick Andrew and the fears 

How prepared are the FCT hospitals with regards to the current ebola virus disease?

Well, virtually nothing. As I am speaking with you now even the Kuye Hospital earmarked as one of the Isolation Centres is not yet ready. As at yesterday (Thursday) when I sought to confirm the readiness of the facility, I was told that only 19 gowns have been supplied and the situation is very embarrassing because it seems the government is just playing politics with the whole thing. Right now, our members are afraid because we can’t touch any seriously ill person in the hospital because we can’t protect ourselves. 

Firstly, persons to handle ebola cases ought to have been trained. Secondly, all who are to work in the facility must reside within the same environment in the next 21 days. The government is to be responsible for their upkeep and accommodation so that they don’t come in contact with others except those in the centre, but that has not been done. 

It is only at the Maitama Hospital where they have provided hand sanitizers and portable water at the entrance to the hospital as well as infra-ray thermometer for taking one’s temperature. This is the only hospital with a semblance of facilities for ebola in Abuja.

Do you mean Abuja is not prepared for Ebola, in case there is outbreak?

 

Well, neither the federal Government nor the FCT administration is prepared for ebola outbreak in Abuja. This explains why people are avoiding the hospitals in Abuja even after the doctors have called off their strike. Even patients are refusing to allow nurses to take their blood pressure because they want to limit contact with nurses who are usually the primary contact with all seriously ill persons. You know the instrument used in taking the pressure is only one and patients don’t want to share whatever will bring about contact with others. 

Of course, ebola is contracted through skin contact, sharing of body fluid etc. We, nurses are the first point of contact because there is no way a nurse will run away from touching a patient because before any other health worker touches a patient a nurse must take the patient’s TPR. A nurse must first know your temperature, post blood pressure before any other diagnose. In-fray-ray ought to have been provided for use at all the entrances to hospitals but that has not been provided even at the Isolation centre. 

Could it be that the strike action by the NMA may have been responsible for non-provision of these items?

Not exactly, because even before the NMA called off the strike, the Federal Government had made provision for N1.9 billion to buy those equipment, the expectation had been that these would have been provided before now if they were really serious about preparing for and being ready to contain ebola should there be an outbreak in Abuja.

The nurses are not happy because they are being exposed to unnecessary risk because it is obvious the federal government is not really serious about fighting Ebola in Abuja. The government is not prepared for ebola in Abuja, it seems they are only playing politics with ebola, and we are afraid for our lives and that of others, who might be at risk.

But the Minister of Health has consistently spoken about efforts being made to combat the dreaded ebola virus and at the moment he said there has been a drastic reduction in the number of cases?

That may be true.  But what is the statistics?

The minister said out of 13 cases only one person is still having serious case.

That surely is government side. They don’t have statistics for several others. For instance, you know ebola is an executive virus, now if they are talking about checking those coming through the airport and making provisions to quarantine those with reasonable high temperature for observation. What about the others who enter the country through the sea and others that use land transport? Is there any screening centre apart from the Kuye centre earmarked for screening of travelers? Is it equipped and functioning? How are they sure that there are no ebola cases?  Though the minister had said by September 6 is the likely date the virus will be eliminated in Nigeria, but he was sharply contrasted and corrected subsequently. The president denied that it is not all over yet. So whom do we believe between the two?

My suggestion is let them use the N1. 9bn set aside to contain ebola to purchase the needed equipment. The health workers are waiting for this to limit their risk in contact with ebola virus patients. These materials should be purchased centrally and then distributed to hospitals across Abuja and other cities as well.  If they don’t , chances are that contractors can buy fake products which will not serve the purpose. 

Nurses are not happy that the government has paid lip service in the fight against ebola virus as evident by the failure to purchase the needed equipment.  Nurses are not protected. Note that among those that have died for having contact with the primary ebola carrier- Patrick Sawyer- nurses are the most in number. Even if they say they give nurses life assurance what about our families who by virtue of being secondary contact could be at risk as well? 

Of course, some of us don’t remove their uniform until we got home and by the time we are at home our children would run to say daddy or mummy or auntie oh yo yo and we can’t stop them. They could contract what they are not supposed to contract all because we are not adequately protected. 

Now, the Kuye Hospital they are setting aside as Isolation Centre is it one section or the entire hospital?

It is only one section. They earmarked a particular section, just a temporal ward. They have made that section a no-go-area.

Talking about isolation centre, there have been protects across the states by residents who don’t want the centre sited in their areas for fear of the contagious nature of the virus?

The people are correct. You can’t site a virus control centre in the midst of residential area. It is called an isolation centre and truly should be isolated.  That shows that there is no seriousness by the government on this. What they did was only the usual fire brigade reaction, lack of real seriousness and that is why we nurses are protesting because we are not protected. The facility in question is sited within a residential area and a densely populated area like Kuye at that. No, it is either the government is insincere or they are out rightly deceitful. You can’t site a facility for highly contagious virus in such places neither can you seriously quarantine people in such a densely populated area and hope to achieve success in terms of controlling the spread of the virus. 

The ideal medical practice is site such facility outside residential area because you need to quarantine people and don’t quarantine people within a residential area. 

But as professionals have you offered professional advice in this regard or specifically that such facility should not be sited within residential areas?

When government wants to do whatever they hardly consult anybody. As a I am speaking with you now there is a committee on ebola comprising all medical unions and others, but we are not involved. I have never been invited for any meeting. Now, if you are not called for meetings how do you make contribution? If they work with our people at the higher level they will either take or reject the advice but they don’t even include you in their meetings. If we had been involved in the entire process whatever suggestion and advice that we think would be useful, we would follow through.  What  we really want is for them to provide the Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) which they have promised our members. Let us see them and confirm whether they are genuine or not. 

Also, people are supposed to be trained on the use of these facilities on how to handle those already infected or potential carriers of the virus. Because any seriously ill person is a suspected ebola virus disease case until proven otherwise. Whoever has temperature above 40 degrees is a suspect and needs be isolated. But where the equipment to confirm whether it is ebola case or not? 

What is the next line of action for nurses?

We have resolved not to attend to anybody who is seriously ill. The reason is simple, if you attend to that person you are taking fatal risk, you are a risk to your immediate family, you face death. Ordinarily now, if one goes to the hospital and says he is feverish nobody will want to attend to you. Why would they want me a nurse to attend to patient when I don’t have the basic equipment to protect me against the virus? 

We don’t even have in-fray ray thermometer in any general hospital in Abuja. Even the gloves that we are using is still the same ordinary ones we had been using in the past before the outbreak of the virus and even at that nurses in government hospitals even have to buy the gloves on their own just to protect themselves. 

Is your contemplating letting the government know in your own peculiar way that you cannot continue under this situation?

Yes,  we have already alerted the government through a paid advertorial and we are awaiting their response. And if they don’t respond we shall resort to yet another step. Now though we are still appealing to our members to be calm. But we have instructed them to avoid serious cases because these are no-go-areas. Even in emergency situation, we won’t attend to anybody because you could contract it through blood and if you don’t have necessary protective gears then it is as good signing one’s death warrant. If we are going to embark on strike as a last resort it will be because the government has refused to provide the basic necessities for our protection. 

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