Citizens Call For President Bio’s Intervention

By Edwina Sia Janga

Recent events at the country’s main maternal Hospital in Eastern Freetown, PCMH, otherwise known as Cottage, has created huge concerns among residents in the country, as there has been reports of cases of pregnant women dying at the hospital, for what many see as avoidable deaths. In barely less than four days, two known pregnant women have been reported to have died during labour.
According to sources, one such death was caused by the administration of wrong treatment to the patient without due regard for her peculiar health condition, as she was said to be hypertensive and on medication for same. It is believed that when a pregnant woman arrives at a maternal facility, whether in labour or otherwise, her medical history should be investigated to enable the health worker to offer her the correct treatment and medication, otherwise, the patient will eventually die. Though the government had established Free Health Care for pregnant women and lactating mothers, including the disabled, little is been seen in its implementation. There are cases where the drugs to treat the patients are in short supply, and family members are forced to go to the nearest pharmacy to buy them. The question on the lips of many families is whether the government is not aware that there are not enough drugs to treat pregnant women and lactating mothers in the facility? Why should family members have to go and buy the drugs from the nearby pharmacy?
Member of Parliament from Bombali District, during debate for the passing of the Sierra Leone Nursing and Midwives Council Bill 2022, recalled an incident when he took a pregnant woman to the PCMH for medical attention, and discovered that a good number of the nurses working on night duty do not sleep at their area of deployment, and often leave their posts and the patients to themselves. He stressed that it was only when he identified himself as a Member of Parliament that frantic efforts were made to attend to the patient. Had it not been for the fact that he identified himself to the nurses as MP. Had he been an ordinary citizen, with lower status, one wonders what would have been the fate of the patient? Simply put: death. Hon Mark Mamoud Kalokoh noted that he observed that nurses spend most of their time on their phones on tik tok than on their patients.
Some concerned citizens are of the view that the insatiable desire for money could be behind the resultant deaths of pregnant women at the facility, as without money or strong political connection, one’s patient at PCMH will suffer and even die. What is the commitment of the doctors and nurses to the patients, when there is no money? Who supervises the nurses to ensure that they stay at their respective posts and carry out their duties to save the lives of their patients? Whilst authorities may want to dispute some of the facts in this write-up, the disclosure of Hon. Mark Mamoud Kalokoh is a testimony of what many ordinary Sierra Leoneans are going through on a daily basis, and could be the reason for the increase in maternal deaths at the facility.
Some family members confided in this medium that there are cases where the doctors refuse to see the patients because they do not pay the stipulated fee for medical attention. This goes against the Hippocratic Oath taken by every doctor to serve humanity irrespective of race, sexuality, religion and other consideration, and to do so without consideration for fee (Hippocratic Oath of 2017 refers). It is the view of many that whilst the doctors are paid out of the consolidated fund, which is tax payers money, they are expected to provide the required service and attention to the people, especially as their job is to serve humanity.
The Ministry of Health is implored to investigate the rise in the cases of maternal deaths at PCMH, and not to simply take excuses from supervisors, who may be doing so to cover up for their mistakes.