Women of Bramaia Chiefdom in Kambia District have claimed that some staff attached to the Community Health Centre sometimes refuse to treat mothers and their babies who refuse to pay money.
Speaking on behalf of a group of lactating mothers at Kukuna, the chiefdom headquarter town, Abibatu Kamara, a lactating mother, explained that nurses sometimes refuse to administer treatments to them “and sometimes refuse to treat their children because we could not give money”.
She added, “We are seriously affected by the cruelty of the health workers attached to this hospital… They usually shout at us and refuse to treat our children, and tell us that there are no medicines at the hospital when we don’t give them money, which cause us to stay at home without going to the hospital for treatment.”
She added that they had unsuccessfully attempted to approach the Community Health Officer and other community stakeholders in the past to inform them about the issue.
The Community Health Officer, Musa Bangura said he was unaware that some workers at the hospital were collecting money from women.
He confirmed that they sometimes run out of drugs at the facility, and that has had serious effects not only on the residents and staff of the hospital.
He said that, whenever there is a shortage of drugs at the hospital, he goes to the district headquarter town of Kambia to seek help.
He confirmed that, in the recent past there had been a fall in the number of pregnant and lactating mothers, including other sick people, who come for treatment at the facility, but recent sensitization exercise which they conducted has led to improvement in the number of women and children visiting the hospital.
Bangura called on NGOs and the government to assist the hospital with drugs.
By Ibrahim S. Bangura
6/7/2020. ISSUE NO.: 7859