bullets. On that noteworthy evening, my parents
decided to go see a friend. Being that the friend in
question stays close by, they decided to walk- a
decision they'd forever regret. Not much long later,
there was a gunshot and everyone dove for cover, by
the time my dad had come out of hiding to know
what happened, he found my mum lying almost
almost-lifeless body in the pool of her own blood;
about seven pieces of shrapnel had found their ways
into her body. Devastated but strengthened by the
discovery that her heart was still beating at all, he
called out for help so he can convey her to nearest
hospital and many who witnessed the event and saw
the poor woman life fleeting hurriedly, moved farther
away from the scene- they didn't want police trouble.
Eventually the poor woman was taken to a hospital
and you can imagine the unbelief, shock, dismay and
anger that welled up in my dad's heart when he was
told that before they can do a thing, that they'd need
to see a report from the Nigeria Police Force,
indicating how that she's a victim, just as he
claimed. It was an act of God that that woman
survived that ordeal.
If that woman had died, who would have been held
responsible? The hospital or the Nigerian Police
Force? Would the matter have seen the light of day?
Would it not have been just another face in the
Nigerian crowd that died; mere statistics that nobody
except family cared about?
Will I be asking too much from my home country if I
expected to see doctors handle patients in critical
conditions the way their counterparts in the UK and
US treat theirs, irrespective of what their personal
misgivings may be concerning the patient. I thought
that the Hippocratic-oath and its ethics held doctors
to the primary charge of saving lives, irrespective of
the circumstances surrounding their patents then
going ahead to contact the police, should they
entertain any suspicion afterwards.
Who would have believed that with the many
innumerable road accidents occurring each and every
day on our interstate freeways, that people hardly
pause to assist anyone involved in a road mishap?
First, they are afraid it may be a decoy by some
smart armed robber to lure unsuspecting travelers
into being robbed. Even when people have finally
verified that it was a real accident and that dying
victims are in critical need of medical help, they still
hesitate to be of any meaningful assistance.
Why? Because they don't want police trouble. Even
when hospitals are close by, we watch people die,
who would otherwise have received timely medical
help simply because we don't want police trouble. If
by any chance the victim finds his way into a general
hospital, they'd ask for police report before they can
touch the victim. I know you'd ask what on earth
police report has to do with an accident victim, but
these heart-rending occurrences take place almost
every day in our different hospitals even in
Government-owned hospitals. You'd have thought
there's no legislature binding doctors from turning
away patients in critical conditions for no reason at
all but the truth is, no one seems to remember that.
Sometime ago, a good Samaritan, who was trying to
save the life of an abandoned accident victim in
critical condition ended up spending three good days
in police custody. He had found the victim in a really
bad shape and was hurrying to get him to the
hospital first before death gets to him when
policemen accosted them began interrogating him
while the patient lay there dying in the car. He ended
up sleeping in police custody for days, just for trying
to help a dying accident victim.
I want fellow Nigerians to know that you can sue the
life out of any hospital that rejects anyone who
needed urgent medical attention by hiding under the
unwarranted cloak of police report. I want Nigerians
to know that even when they have no money and
their loved ones are made to suffer or die because
doctors are demanding all kinds of monetary
deposits before they'd attend to them, that they
have the right to be attended to, at least have their
loved ones stabilized before the doctors would say
anything about money. You don't need spend a
fortune to take them to court, just find a good and
ambitious attorney who'd enter a bargain to get a
percentage if you win and the hospitals will pay for
the damages they have done.
I wish I could tell the NPF that we are now in the 21st
century. I wish I could make them understand that
the taxpayer's money pays their huge salaries. I wish
I could make them understand that they are hired to
protect lives and properties. I wish I could make them
understand that they could spend the rest of their
lives in jail if it was proven in court that their greed
and unwarranted carelessness caused the death of
just one innocent citizen. I wish the IGP could read
this. I hope he could wake his men from the slumber
of illiteracy and corruption.
For the doctors, I am short of words. I wish the
Nigerian Medical Association chairman can see this. I
used to think doctors are very enlightened people. I
wish they could change their attitude and attach a
little bit of value to human lives. I just wish they can
do better than turning patients in urgent need of
medical health away to die for no reason, when they
have every resource necessary to save them.
About the author: Ifeanyi J. Igbokwe is a peak
performance expert, motivational speaker,
consultant and an action coach with special interest
with personal and corporate growth and
effectiveness.
Sent From David Aniemeka
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