Dr. Jeredine George, a Specialist Obstetrician Gynaecologist at the national OBGYN hospital, PCMH, known as “Cottage,” took to social media to express her distress over the persistent power shortages affecting the hospital. In a poignant post, she detailed the harrowing impact of these outages on patient care.
Sharing a photo of herself geared up for on-call duty, Dr. George’s caption, “ar ready for the on-call tiday: bring it on!” belied the challenges that awaited her. Recounting the ordeal of a power outage stretching from 9:15 pm one night until 8 am the next day, she highlighted the grave repercussions for patient well-being.
“Let me give you scenarios of what this implies,” Dr. George lamented, citing instances where medical professionals relied on phone torches for examinations and where critical treatments, like oxygen administration, were compromised. Tragically, the loss of a baby underscored the urgency of the situation, as timely intervention could have averted the tragedy.
Despite the presence of solar panels and a hospital generator, their limited capacity exacerbated the crisis, leaving crucial areas of the hospital in darkness. Nurses valiantly tended to patients amidst these challenges, illuminating their tasks with phone torches in the absence of adequate lighting.
Dr. George’s impassioned plea for assistance resonated beyond her immediate circle, drawing attention to the systemic failures undermining patient care at PCMH. “We are not complaining about the workload or salary,” she clarified, emphasizing the need for improved working conditions and equitable access to healthcare for all patients.
The disparity between the facilities at “Cottage” and the neighboring children’s hospital further underscored the urgency of the situation, prompting Dr. George to call for tangible solutions rather than bureaucratic promises.
Her candid revelation of the night’s struggles, including two maternal near misses, underscored the gravity of the situation and the resilience of the hospital staff. As she concluded her post, Dr. George expressed gratitude to her colleagues and appealed for concrete action to address the pressing challenges facing PCMH.
The outpouring of support following Dr. George’s post serves as a rallying cry for stakeholders to prioritize investments in healthcare infrastructure and ensure that no patient suffers due to preventable shortcomings in service delivery.
