The Private Ward

When you are first told the amount charged per night in order to attain a semi-private room within the walls of the private ward of the John F. Kennedy (JFK) Hospital in Monrovia, you might be inclined to assume that that money will also be worth the services provided. Unfortunately, that’s not going to happen. Get ready to deal with unbecoming behavior from the nurses on duty. And the good thing is that they actually get away with these poor, unprofessional behaviors and the level of morale among nurses unfortunately finds itself right there in the dump!

Tell me how you would feel... or what would you do?

JFK is a major referral hospital in contemporary Liberia and unfortunately the poorest in terms of service-delivery or patients’ case and respect for human dignity. The US$50 charged per each night spent in the private ward only goes toward the bed. The rest is left with you, if you deem it necessary to enjoy the comfort that SHOULD come with the amount charged.

In the first place, there is no “assigned” nurse in that ward. However, the patients are in direct eye-view of nurses in the general ward; watching over them all night. In most instances, if the nurses don’t get their way, they become very rude to patients. Some of them even commit multitude of professional errors with no excuse, but arrogantly defend their actions saying, “But I didn’t know that something would have happened to the patient after I served those pills. But in any case, why didn’t you inform me directly, instead of letting the doctor know about the error?”

So, as a patient’s relative and a care-taker, you would do well to be prepared to also play the role of a nurse-aid or assistant nurse, once you are within the walls of the private ward, otherwise your patient’s condition will be played like a deck of cards.

Do not be surprised when you are asked by the nurse or nurse-aide on duty to clean-up your patient, change the beddings and ensure that your private room is kept tidy to impress the doctors who begin their rounds by 8am. You definitely need not be surprised if asked to stay up all night, while the nurse on duty snores at the nurses’ station. Your task is to watch over your patient and, in case of any development, dash out to the nurses’ station and report it to the nurse in charge. Then, return to your private room and wait there for at least half an hour or more for the nurse to finally clear the sleep from her eyes.

Mind you, everything you’ve been doing so far, besides taking care of the bill and keeping the patient company, is actually the nurse’s job. But this being a third-world medical environment, there is an appreciable level of grey area between the responsibilities of the nurse and of you, the patient’s guardian, so to speak. So now you’re the nurse’s assistant and if you truly love your patient, you would do what the nurse says, above and beyond your responsibility as “guardian”.  Sure, for you, it is a labor of love.  For the nurse, however, she gets to relax in your apparent willingness to help. And you better get used to doing independent research of your patient’s condition, because that might be the best way to understand the condition of your patient.  After all, she’s there when the doctor isn’t; and is the next best source if you want answers and help at those ungodly hours when your patient is in pain and can hardly sleep. With the nurse, you’re on a total information block or a “need-to-know” basis at best.

If you are lucky, she might show up, looking all worked up and frowning. But be careful, because in that mood she might be increasingly aggressive. If you are unlucky, she might just not show up, waiting for you to get fed-up, return to her and ask what’s taking her so long to come and see your patient’s condition. At that point, she will look you directly in the eyes and say “I’m waiting for the doctor to come.” Don’t try to panic over what might be the next thing to happen to your patient while you all wait indefinitely for the doctor; because if you do, it will be at your own risk. For the nurse, she’s comfortable with her unprofessional attitude on the job.

And just in case you are new to our environment, these are just a snapshot of health care delivery in action at the level of emerging practitioners, especially the nurses and new doctors in the field. But can we just sit by supinely and swallow the pains we are going through at the hands of these clueless, unscrupulous agents in our health care delivery sector? Our task is to unearth these ills by sharing our stories about happenings within the walls of any ward at hospitals and clinics across the country.

Liberia’s health care delivery system is rife with stories of nurses’ maltreatment of patients up to and including death, at hospitals and clinics throughout this country.  And with the unavailability of credible autopsy facilities in the country to validate actual cause of death, many health-care practitioners get away with murder on a daily basis. This is Liberia, where standards in nearly every profession, including health care, go ignored to the peril of innocent persons and well-meaning institutions.

It is imperative that the personal experiences of patients speak well of both doctors and nurses, thus converting first-time patients to return customers.  And for this to happen, hospital and clinics staffers must emulate the diligence and professionalism of their call to duty, or risk ignoring these standards to the peril of themselves, their patients and their practice as a whole.

Share your experiences within the walls of any clinic or hospital across the country with us by send an email to nabiefofana@gmail.com . Even if you choose to be anonymous, your story can help to highlight deep-seated unprofessional acts by nurses across the country. Together, we can help improve the quality of health care in Liberia.