THE COVID-19 situation in the country is affecting normal health services at the National Referral Hospital (NRH) resulting in unnecessary deaths since attention is solely focused on emergency cases only.
Speaking to this paper, a doctor said that they are having a big problem but have to accept it because of fear to come out to the public.
He said that most chronically ill patients are not given the attention they duly needed.
“The truth is 90 percent of the resources now are given to COVID-19 preparation and response,” the doctor said.
The doctor further added that bold steps need to be taken by NRH management to look into these issues.
“We are here to save lives but when the government and our superiors cannot foresee what is happening with regards to our sick people, we felt that we have failed our citizens as professionals,” the doctor added.
The doctor also told this paper that the NRH Chief Executive Officer (CEO) is not in the country at the moment and yet continues to receive his COVID-19 allowances.
“This is again a slap on the face of those frontline doctors who are working 24/7 on the ground to make sure that our COVID-19 preparation and response is ready,” the doctor added.
The doctor reiterated that NRH needs its normal service to reopen so that more attention can be given to citizens who have suffered from chronic illness.
It was understood that this State of Emergency is still fully enforced and it might also affect the normal medical services at NRH.
By ANDREW FANASIA
