Iligan City Public Hospital

Lapses of Iligan City Public Hospital Nurses

Janet An Braza

 

               A seven year old girl (name withheld), grade one pupil of Iligan City Central School, was bitten by a neighbor’s dog on January 24, 2010. She was sent by the owner of the dog to the city hospital for a vaccine called Rabipur (one vial cost Php1,395). On the next schedule, the girl’s parent availed of an indigent’s card and was told that the indigence program of the City is given only once.

The Girl who was bitten by the dog waiting for the City Hospital Indigency Office to be opened to claim her vaccine Rabipur.

               The girl’s second injection was at City Health Office (CHO) done by a CHO nurse, who informed the parent that her daughter was not supposed to be injected with an im (intramuscular) injection since the victim has only one bite at her right leg, and she was supposed to be injected by such anti-rabies injection. For the girl was too young. The proper injection to be administered is an id (intradermal) as reflected in the treatment schedule from the City Hospital nurse herself. This is one of the nurse’s lapses. Another one, the attending nurse of the City Hospital did not affix her signature on the patient’s ID Treatment Schedule, unlike what the CHO nurse did.

The freedom for the people abhorred, no media practitioner can enter any hospitals emergency ward.

The parent was thankful for the girl’s third dose of Rabipur injection was sponsored by Iligan City Mayor Lawrence Cruz.

               The third lapse of a City Hospital nurse. A  worried, middle-aged man who was suffering from severe headaches went to the City Hospital last Wednesday, at 5pm, February 10, 2010. He went directly to the Emergency Ward, and his BP (blood pressure) was taken by a lady nurse. It was 120/80.  He was told, however, to go back the following day to have another checkup at the OPD (Out-Patient Department), that is, if the pain would not subside.

After he registered himself, his BP was taken by a male nurse. It was 110/90. After less than two hours waiting for his name to be called, he came in to a doctor’s clinic. Inside his BP was again taken, this time by a female nurse. It was 140/100.

The doctor said the man was hypertensive of the BP’s result. The man reasoned out that yesterday his BP was 120/80, and then at the OPD, it was 110/90. So what the doctor did was to take the man’s BP personally, and it was really 140/100.  The patient asked the doctor, “Why is it like that, Doc?” The doctor answered, “Maybe it was done haphazardly only. It should be done seriously.”

The patient went out thinking that he could have died if his BP was not properly checked. For if one is hypertensive there are so many precautions to follow and me to take. In other words, if his BP was properly noted on the first day that he had a checkup, he could have been given medications right away.

The nurses’ lapses could have endangered his life, if not would cost his life. This is a lesson that every nurse whether working in a public or not should be aware of.