Containing The COVID-19 Pandemic: We Need An Urgent Intervention- Dr Ugboaja

The Chairman, Medical Advisory Committee, NAUTH and the Chairman of the Taskforce on COVID-19 of the hospital, Dr Ugboaja Joe has called for more assistance to the hospital from the key stakeholders in the state including community and Religious leaders, Market leaders, Corporate organizations and good spirited individuals and philanthropists. He said that this is the only way the hospital can continue to play its role in containing the COVID-19 pandemic. He made this call during the 5th press briefing on the activities of the COVID-19 Taskforce. He stressed that the war cannot be left to the hospital and government alone

“We have gotten to the stage where Community and Religious leaders and all stakeholders must get involved and take some responsibility in the fight to end this pandemic. This war can no longer be left to the hospitals and the government alone. We don’t know who will be the next victim”.

The Chairman of the Covid-19 Taskforce said that currently, the hospital is being overwhelmed with the onerous responsibility of providing the needed PPEs for the workers who are at the frontline and available reports show that an increasing number of healthcare workers are getting infected by the virus.

He stressed that there is an urgent need for all stakeholders to identify with the current efforts being made by the hospital and the government to contain the spread of this virus in concrete terms. He mentioned that the areas of collaboration and support to include the donation of PPEs to the hospital, provision of logistics for contact tracing as well as participating actively in public enlightenment and community sensitization programs on the need for the people to adhere to Covid-19 preventive strategies especially the wearing of face mask, staying at home, maintain physical distancing and practising appropriate hand hygiene.

Dr Ugboaja, whose committee has been working round the clock to ensure that all potential cases of COVID-19 in the state are identified and managed appropriately stressed that the provision of PPEs which includes the PPE gowns, the N-95 masks, the surgical masks, hand gloves etc is central and critical in the fight to end the pandemic as it ensures the protection of the health workers who are at the frontline of this war. Available reports show that increasing number of healthcare workers are being affected by the virus and therefore all hands must be on deck to protect them in order to ensure that success is obtained in the current effort at ending the pandemic.

Dr Ugboaja mentioned that the identification and management of Covid-19 patients has become very expensive venture owing to the high cost of the PPEs and consumables and no public hospital can afford to provide all the PPEs needed by the healthcare workers to do their job.

“Currently the PPEs are very expensive and no public health facility can afford to procure all the PPEs needed to cater for these patients as they do not pay for services. At present, a standard PPE gown costs between N6000 and N12,000 while a good N-95 face mask sells for between N2,500 and N6000 and these materials are consumed in large quantities once you have suspected or confirmed cases of COVID-19.
For example, during the management of the last severe case of COVID-19 we had in the hospital, we used about 200 pieces of both the PPE gown and the N-95 mask among other consumables. The patient also consumed about 20 cylinders of oxygen. I’m sure, you can now imagine what we are going through in ensuring that these materials are made available for our workers.

Dr Ugboaja then made a clarion call for urgent assistance from the public in terms of donating the needed PPEs for them to continue working urging all well-meaning Anambrarians to get involved in this effort to end the pandemic by coming to the aid of the hospital with the needed PPEs as according to him, the hospital is overwhelmed currently with the challenge of providing PPEs for the workers.

“ We need assistance from the public-spirited Anambrarians and Corporate Organizations in the state and we need it urgently as the infection rate is increasing in the state and more so as Nnewi has been designated as a flashpoint of COVID-19 infection. All well-meaning Anambrarians need to get involved in this effort to end the pandemic. As a foremost hospital that is expected to identify and manage these cases to limit the spread of the infection, we are currently overwhelmed with the challenge of providing PPEs for our workers.

Leaving this huge responsibility to the Teaching hospital alone is not sustainable and cannot guarantee success in this fight and if we allow the hospital to get overwhelmed, then all of us are in trouble as we don’t know who the victim will be. Therefore, key stakeholders have to rise to the occasion by mobilizing resources to support the Teaching hospital by way of donating the needed PPEs and other consumables. This will ensure that the workers are protected and are in good health to continue their work at the frontline. The safety of healthcare workers is of paramount importance in the effort to end this pandemic.

Dr. Ugboaja thanked the CMD, Prof Igwegbe AO and the Board of management of the hospital led by Chief Ezekiel Afukonyo for their effort in providing the needed logistics and materials for the task force to do its work. He also paid glowing tribute to the efforts of the Anambra Progressives in building a standard Isolation centre for the hospital and the Ministry of Health and NCDC for supporting the centre.

“The CMD and Board of management of the hospital have been outstanding in this period of the pandemic in providing the needed materials and support for the task force to do its job and they deserve a lot of commendations,” he said.

In addition to providing the much-needed PPEs, the CMD, Prof Igwegbe has also magnanimously approved some incentives for our staff working at the Isolation centre, managing patients affected by COVID-19. I want to also appreciate in a special way the Anambra progressives for building and equipping a world-class Isolation and Treatment centre for the Teaching hospital. That singular gesture is not only timely but very auspicious as our current Isolation centre has only 3 beds and has a very limited capacity for the admission and management of cases of COVID-19.

We look forward eagerly to putting that facility to use as soon as it is handed over as it will greatly boost our capacity to admit and manage more people that are affected by the virus with its 40-bed capacity. I want to also thank the Federal Ministry of Health and the NCDC for all the support they have been giving to us.”

The Taskforce chairman concluded by appreciating the State Government for the efforts it is making in curtailing the spread of the virus and supporting the hospital especially the activation of a test centre at the Chukwuemeka Odimegwu Ojukwu Teaching hospital, Awka. He noted that the establishment of the test centre has greatly lessened the logistics incurred un the movement of sample to ISTH Irrua, Edo state, reduced the turnaround time for result and enables a quicker clinical decision on the admitted suspected cases.