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Global Health Economics and
Sustainability
Attitude of health-care workers toward hospital patients

unpaid salaries. According to IDI respondents, doctors government? The health budget and that of education
and nurses, especially in public hospitals, avoided their were slashed. The health budget was slashed by 43%;
responsibilities due to a lack of necessary equipment to this is not what we need now. This means that we are
work with. Items such as hand sanitizers, gloves, face masks, not giving things actual priority. Every aspect of the
temperature checkers, and test kits were not available. An Nigerian economy is affected; why should the health
illustrative quote from an IDI respondent underscores this budget be cut down at this point? (Live Arise News
perspective: Television Broadcast: doctor “A”).
“If we don’t cry out now and make our voices heard,
“Healthcare workers were afraid to engage because when will we do so? We do not have a listening
they were not well equipped. There is nothing like a
hand glove or a common face mask. Assuming you government. Health should not be relegated to the
are a healthcare worker, there is no face mask; there background. The health system in Nigeria is dying, if
is no glove, and no overall vest that 10 naira can buy; it is not already dead. Hence, many of us have left the
the government cannot provide it. How do you expect country because of the insincerity of the government.
health-care workers to approach patients whose Protective equipment to work with is not available
in our hospitals. Over 800 health workers have been
COVID-19 status is unknown? Just put yourself in infected by a coronavirus in Nigeria. Our demand at
their shoes. My mother, who was a health-care worker, state tertiary institutions is COVID-19 inducement
passed away on December 22, 2010; to date, they have allowance and insurance. For example, in Lagos, we
not paid her entitlement. Would you want to risk your have been shortchanged for years. We are not paid
life and leave your family in hardship?” (IDI 2: public well. Our residential quarters are in bad condition.
health worker).
For example, at Lagos State University (LASU), we
Medical doctors in Nigeria have gone on strike twice have had to endure. We are resident doctors, and as
since the first COVID-19 case was reported in February resident doctors, we have to be accommodated within
2020. Some of the striking doctors on demonstration in the hospital or, at most, around the hospital. We need
Lagos State were captured in a live broadcast on Arise good accommodations. In this COVID-19 pandemic,
News Television. They voiced concerns about the lack our doctors were stranded; they could not come to
of incentives, hazard allowances, unpaid salaries, and work at the early period of the lockdown because there
inadequate equipment, which they identified as major was no transportation” (Live Arise News Television
factors contributing to the negative attitude of health- Broadcast: doctor “B”).
care workers toward combating COVID-19 in Nigeria.
The following quotes were captured from these striking 3.3. The attitude of community members/patients
doctors: toward hospital care during the COVID-19 pandemic
“What we are asking is that we get paid for the work The attitude of community members/patients toward
we are doing. We were promised a COVID-19 hazard hospital care during the COVID-19 pandemic in Nigeria
allowance, but up until now, none of our members was very poor. The attitude was one of fear and fright. Many
have been paid. The Lagos State government instituted people who were sick during this COVID-19 pandemic in
an insurance scheme for medical workers who died Nigeria were afraid to approach the hospital so that they
from COVID-19, and as we speak, we have lost a lot of would not get infected. Some community members who
medical workers to COVID-19, and members of their are sick prefer to die at home rather than go to the hospital.
families do not even have hope of receiving anything A lot resorted to self-medication and herbal treatment;
from the government. A promise has been made, and consequently, a lot of deaths and worsened health situations
this promise has to be fulfilled. We are losing health- were reported in Nigeria outside of COVID-19 infections.
care workers, so we are already an endangered species The following is a quote from an IDI respondent:
in this COVID-19 pandemic. If we lose our lives, “Many community members don’t want to go to
who is going to fight the pandemic in the hospitals? the hospital because they don’t know who has the
Just because we do not have the necessary equipment coronavirus there. From the examples in Italy, the
to work with. More importantly, we do not think USA, and Europe, it was the health-care workers who
that we are doing any disservice to the populace by contracted the virus the most. So, regular hospital
engaging in strike action. We are trying to let the patients in Nigeria don’t want to go to a hospital
government do the right thing. Looking at the health out of fear of contracting the virus. What patients
system in Nigeria, it is obvious that it is weakened and say is, “Instead of going to the hospital to contract
threatened. Can you look at the budget of this present coronavirus, let me manage this sickness that I have.”

Volume 2 Issue 3 (2024) 6 https://doi.org/10.36922/ghes.2743