Bauchi – Dr Yusuf Jibrin, the Chief Medical Director (CMD) of Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University Teaching Hospital, Bauchi, on Wednesday said that the “impatience” of some patients was one of the greatest challenges facing his staff.
Jibrin said this when he paid a courtesy visit to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), Bauchi Zonal Office.
He said that most patients were always in a hurry to be attended to, hence creating unnecessary friction between them and the medical staff.
“The most disturbing aspect of it is that they (patients) view any attempt at being thorough through the conduct of all necessary medical tests, as a waste of time.
“They want drugs prescribed as soon as they had explained their predicaments to the doctor and that is not the best approach.
“They hardly realise that there is a difference between a teaching hospital and other health facilities,” he said.
The CMD said that the management of the teaching hospital had been cautioning the staff against over-reacting to unruly behaviours by patients or their relations.
He also advised patients to be aware that the staff of the teaching hospital were also human beings that had their limitations.
“The number of patients being attended to per medical staff, is high, hence the personnel are always under pressure.
“Sometimes, this pressure is so enormous that there is a limit to which they can withstand verbal assaults.
“We are, therefore, appealing to patients to always be patient. A patient should not be impatient,” he said.
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The CMD also called on media outfits in the state, to help educate the people on the due process obtainable at the hospital.
“I am, therefore, calling on the News Agency of Nigeria, and indeed other media organisations in the state, to help us educate the people
to have a change of attitude that will provide the conducive atmosphere for excellent service delivery,” he pleaded.
In his remarks, the Bauchi Zonal Manager of NAN, Malam Abdullahi Salihu, said the organisation had been featuring the activities of the hospital in its bulletin as part of its social responsibilities.
He said such effort would continue, so long as the management of the hospital maintained an open door policy for exchange of ideas on problem areas. (NAN)
