A gastroenterologist with the Federal Teaching Hospital Gombe, Dr. Kefas Zawaya, says practice without resident doctors leaves enormous gulf in the hospital administration system. Zawaya, who is a consultant, said nurses are limited in their responsibility to patients, adding that the structure can’t be maintained without challenges.“House officers are important; they take samples for you and they ensure that what you request is available. So, if they are not around, it leaves a huge gap.
“Usually, when you see a patient and you make diagnosis, they follow it up; right now, the entire structure is completely out of sync.
“This means that even if you admit a patient, s/he will not be fully cared for. The nurse will be there regularly, but she will only do her work as a nurse. It is not her responsibility to ensure that sample gets to the laboratory or whether it comes back.
“So, there are lots of gaps. The few patients we can manage are those in dire need, to see how to stabilise them and how you would work further,” he said.
Zawaya revealed that the facility has about 70 consultants, but that some of them do not have direct relationship with patients.
“The hospital is not working near a quarter of its capacity, even with the consultants around. The driving force within the hospital are the Residents. So, you can’t cut them off and expect everything to work well.
“We have about 70 consultants at the Federal Teaching Hospital Gombe. There are some that do not come in contact with patients. There are consultants in pathology, microbiology, histopathology, and many more,” he said; while also urging the Federal Government to honour its agreement with the striking doctors.
source: Punch
