Medics shun patients at Gihundwe Hospital

WESTERN PROVINCE RUSIZI—Patients at Gihundwe Hospital in Rusizi District complain that doctors neglect them. In separate interviews with The New Times, early this week, a number of patients accused the medics at different wards of failing to give them adequate attention and timely medication whenever they visit the hospital. A patient, who gave her name only as Betty, said that she has been admitted at the hospital since May without being attended to by any doctor, despite undergoing a lot of pain. “To me, as a victim of this poor reception, I suspect that all this is due to either nepotism or negligence among health personnel. Otherwise, how could they fail to treat someone who is already admitted like me,” she wondered. Another patient alleged that the doctors give preferential treatment to powerful rich people and government officials in the area. “The hospital is totally poorly administered because, when you want any service here, I am sure you won’t get it unless you are someone powerful. Proper medication remains a dream for poor patients,” a patient who preferred anonymity for fear of victimisation added. When contacted for comment yesterday, the hospital director, Theophile Dushime, dismissed the allegations as baseless, but declined to divulge any details. However, an official from the hospital who did not want to reveal his name because he is not authorised to speak to press, said lack of enough qualified staff in the Maternity ward is a big challenge to them. In the last two months, he disclosed, over five expectant mothers passed away while giving birth allegedly due to negligence of the nurses. At the health insurance department, due to understaffing, patients are tasked to search for their file numbers (dossiers) before being treated. If a patient fails to locate his/her file he goes away without treatment, our reporter witnessed. On Wednesday, this reporter saw scores of patients scroll through heaps of files trying to locate their own files, some in vain. The hospital’s director is aware that the hospital is ill quipped especially the laboratory, but there is little attention, our source said. The New Times has also established that there are some internal squabbles among the hospital administrators, which could be responsible for the kind of reception given to patients. These revelations form part of the scandals which have rocked the district health sector since last year. The District Advisory Council (DAC) last November fired the Director of Health Deo Rugaju, for allegedly swindling over Rwf 50million which was meant for the health insurance scheme (Mituelle de santé), in the district. Ends