Ten doctors working at Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital (AKTH) have reportedly contracted Coronavirus after treating patients with symptoms of the virus.
Chairman of the hospital’s Association of Resident Doctors branch, Abubakar Nagoma, confirmed the news on Monday May 4 to Premium Times, stating that the affected health professionals include resident doctors undergoing training and consultant doctors.
“We have resident and consultant doctors that were tested positive for COVID-19 in Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital. About ten doctors are confirmed positive with COVID-19. Eight of them are already in isolation center, while the remaining two are in self-isolation at their homes because they do not have any symptoms. All their close contacts have been traced. There are more test results that are yet to be out for doctors and other health workers of the hospital that were screened last week. The number of those screened is almost a hundred. We are expecting the results likely within the week to know the fate of health workers of the hospital.”
Nagoma attributed the susceptibility of doctors to the disease to the lack of adequate personal protective equipment, non-use of face masks by patients when visiting hospitals, and deliberate withholding of information by some patients.
“On our part, we lack protective equipment. And you will see many doctors at the accident and emergency unit of the hospital wearing only face masks. This is the only protection we have in addition to hand gloves and hand sanitizer. This is not the standard protection protocol guidelines according to NCDC. If you have any suspected (COVID-19) patient, you suppose to have boots, suit, face mask, goggles, cap and also a face shield. These are what is obtainable in a developed world and this the recommendation of National Centre for Disease Control. To be sincere we don’t have them on the ground. We don’t have complete protective suits.
“Another thing, a lot of patients coming from various places within Kano, don’t come with a face mask. And some of them will present their background medical condition, and subsequently the symptoms of COVID-19 start manifesting later on. To some extent sometime, patients conceal information until after a series of diagnosis, then you find symptoms of COVID-19. You are already exposed by then. It is unfortunate that we are working in a very constrained environment. Then the patient turnout is too much. There are a lot of patients coming to the hospital. And they don’t use any barrier that will serve as protection between you and them. We have made so many requisitions to the hospital to ensure constant provision of all the necessary protective equipment. In fact, we even went to the extent of threatening the hospital that we will stop diagnosing patients if this equipment is not available. But as healthcare providers, we cannot fold our arms watching our patients die. We are always at the forefront of seeing patients whether with or without the supply of what we requested. We are still pushing for this to be available. Even the hospital management is complaining they are yet to be supplied by the federal government. What is obtainable has already been exhausted.”
Kano has recorded 365 confirmed cases of Coronavirus and eight deaths so far.