Genre: Editorial 

Published on 15th April on The Ethiopian Herald

 

Cure malpractice reigning in Addis' Hospitals

 BY WORKU BELACHEW

Despite improvements in public health care access in Addis Ababa, reports suggest that quality service provision is at stake. This is not because of scarcity of professionals or drugs and medical equipment as one tries to easily infer. It is rent seeking practice that is diluting quality in hospitals of the city.

Factors that account in tarnishing the service are materializing in various forms. In an occasion held in Adama, a rift valley town growing by leaps and bonds, Health State Minister Dr. Amir Aman was bold enough when unveiling malpractices, still in safe heavens at hospitals in Addis, seen in hospitals to over three hundred participants drawn from six hospitals of the city as well as from Black Lion hospital.

Drug theft and Medical equipment vandalism for instance are not uncommon in many hospitals. To the surprise of humble reader, some drugs supplied to hospitals get diverted to private pharmacies, at the worst the drugs cross Ethiopian border to oversees.

The state minister also questioned the short-breathe various equipment in government hospitals enjoy with example: The ministry procured CT-Scan machine for Black lion hospital—the largest referral in Ethiopia—from same company another private hospitals procured, but it sustained damages after short service, but why? His question is critical and many people also share that. Vandalism on medical equipment is said to have been committed to reap personal gains either in the form of tips from private health institutions or at times to divert patients to one's own clinic.

Another sad story could be, in rural areas, patients were said to have complained charges they had been asked for public Ambulance service and for treatments that the government avail for free such as Malaria and TB.

Every profession has its own ethical guidelines. But, when it comes to health care, the magnitude increases to the level of taking oath to honestly practice tasks to one's best ability and judgment. This is not to deny the existence of health professionals who dispose duties in line with that. Yet, an infectious disease, rent seeking mentality which is attacking other sectors, is not also unsafe in the health sector. Few are misusing their profession extending their murderous networks in public hospitals to accumulate wealth at the cost of patients. Their brute hands are throwing these patients to desperation more than the illness does. Illness is bad, but there are people to cure the bad. However, some of these people themselves need a cure.

Available documents show that curative efforts are being underway such as putting in place a system of Auditable Pharmacy Transactions and Services (APTS) which included, among others, revision of receiving and issuing vouchers at pharmacy stores in health facilities to make them appropriate for pharmaceuticals. As it is clear to anyone, rent seeking practices also get modified to fit a given environment. That is why checking and rechecking systems to close cracks, which if not find out on time change into a big hole, remains too crucial.

This time, the cracks and holes are well identified and even documented. This might be few steps towards the solution, but a concerted effort of everyone brings the genuine cure. For instance, setting a beam of light on the laws, directives, guidelines, programmes, plans or whatever... available in the health sector could be one.

Such important instruments are usually unknown by ordinary persons. Lack of awareness limits public involvement. Sometimes, people may not identify between their rights and duties and between the legal and illegal. Thus, government bodies and other affiliates should come together and plan to raise the awareness of the public. Traditional gatherings including, Edir, Iquib, rituals... and market day could be employed to convey messages. In places where one to five bondage is well understood and in effect the issue of health and fighting malpractice seen in the sector need to be prioritized, as healthy citizen is a requisite to reinforce the ongoing development.

In many hospitals, suggestion boxes, and books are at every nook and cranny. But, customers suggestions and complaints seems to have been overlooked. As far as the purpose is to bring quality service, a periodic audit of these suggestions or complaints is necessary. The problem with this channel is, however, it does not center the illiterate section of our society. Thus, hospital management entities need to have hot lines. It is also a call for other development partners to participate in activities that brings quality in health service provision crafting various proactive and reactive techniques.

Though punishment serves least in bringing genuine solution, as there is an appreciable gap in the demand and supply of health professionals, anyone who breaches the ethical and legal principles needs to enjoy the consequences, otherwise others cannot refrain their hands.

Addis Ababa is a hub of senior health professionals with fairly equipped public hospitals. But, in most cases it seems the hospitals in regional states, relatively with more demand for equipment and practitioners, are by far exceeding in terms of quality. And this scenario should be improved to make the hospitals of the city play an iconic role as it is expected of them.

Quotation of the day

"The very first requirement in a hospital is that it should do the sick no harm.”

Florence Nightingale was a celebrated English social reformer and statistician, and the founder of modern nursing.