My Unpleasant Experience at the Wa Municipal Hospital

Today marks exactly 21 days when my sample was taken for CIVID- 19 test. I have waited and never received a formal communication on my result. I had to dig deep to obtained my status, thankfully, it was negative. For the sample that was taken to Tamale teaching Hospital (TTH) five came out positive and my result was negative, as such the protocol doesn't necessarily matter for them to contact persons who tested negative. This leave suspected persons in a continuous state of psychological trauma. Rather, their focus is on the positive cases.

This doesn't make sense.

Why do we discriminate so much in this country?

How do the politicians get to know their negative status?

It is everyone that dares to assume normal life without hearing their result?

Why must it take one to find his way of obtaining information on his or her status?

One thing that we must all rise and call for is to have a testing center in the Upper West Region.

This would surely reduce some delays and prompt communication or information flow. We must begin to demand for quality of service, because we are all vulnerable to COVID- 19.

Let me indicate that, the COVID- 19 scare has led to some emerging form of ill attitudes among some health professions at the Wa Municipal hospital.

I was never treated as a patient who was rushed to the hospital as an emergency case. The nurse at the OPD were on top on their work, beyond that, l was allowed to struggle and role on the bench for over two hours. After my COVID- 19 sample was taken immediately. I was asked to sit in isolation at the OPD while the nurses visited the doctor several time same excuse Doctor was coming out to see me, but he never shown up, after two hours, l finally threaten to go home before the Doctor walk out.

The conduct of the young looking Doctor and his failure to admit me despite seeing me struggling to speak and in pains indicates that they had concluded am a COVID-19 patient and their family and life is worth than mine, and so l should go home...that is my judgement of the horror experience I had to go through.

So if l had not in the coming days seeking for professional health care on malaria, l would have been dead. Without admission and struggling in agony, l came home after declofenec injection and some Amoxyclave 625 mg tablets was prescribed to me.

My pains worsen and l now wished to die in the arms of my wife and son. Praying she would return from Tamale on her u- turn trip for me to tell her how her love gave me hope; how to take care of my son and the tell him daddy wanted him to be known as a great legend in his area of talent and he should train hard to wear the Ghana national colours. Imagine a youngman who fear to be taken back to hospital and wish to die in the house!

I continue to roll and cry in pains as my brother, watch in pains and pray my final thought never come true. Soon help arrived from a medical practitioner who gave me two infusions and some drug's in my sitting room.

I wake up at 12:34am and saw my beautiful wife picture hanging on my small library cabinet and when l turn right l saw my brother deeply asleep and l gentle tap him to say am awake and he should go to the house to check on his family. Moment later my wife arrived on 'cambu' and smile at me because, she thought my conditions before she left had improved. I quickly drop my near death experience and said welcome l had eaten and asked my niece to cook this super for you.

I only chose to detailed my horrible experience for us to be critical with how our Wa Municipal hospital is continuously becoming unattractive to all of us. The continuous ill treatment of patients at the Municipal hospital cannot be ignored anymore. We must begin to speak up or we keep quiet and pay the price of silence.

I am sincerely grateful to my lovely wife MARIZUKATA, my brother and friend Mr Agambire Inusah and all who never gave a second thought of their health and family and stood by me.

You have all given me reasons to have confidence in humanity.

We must all support and push harder for a regional COVID-19 testing center for the pandemic will stay with us for sometimes as said by experts.

I love you all!

Author; Tahiru Lukman

Youth Activist, Dev’t Consultant & Pan- African Author

Email: [email protected]

Tel: 0209154057 / 0551018778