Healthcare workers treating COVID-19 patients at the Mainland Hospital, an infectious disease facility in Yaba, Lagos, have raised the alarm over alleged shortage of Personal Protective Equipment.

They allege that the shortage of the crucial equipment is exposing them to risks of contracting the coronavirus.

A reliable source at the hospital who spoke to our Correspondent on the condition of anonymity said the situation was becoming worrisome, as there is no N95 respirator mask, protective suit or face shield for the health workers.

We no longer have the N95 mask that we can use at the isolation centre at IDH, and that is the only reassurance for health workers,

the source said.

The source alleged that the government was planning to implement a new policy that will make health workers at the hospital to use the common medical mask.

They want to bring out a new policy, because if there is no N95, the next option is to use the normal blue medical mask that everyone wears on the street, and it is not proper for people attending to confirmed cases of COVID-19 to wear such a mask.

Now, health workers are breaking down and coming down with COVID-19. This mask is not what we can use. The shortage started since the beginning of last week and we’ve been rationalising it.

So, instead of having four people go into the isolation centre, two people will go in and they can only administer the drug.

So, there is no enough manpower that can go in because we don’t have enough PPE for workers.

Distraught by the situation, the source said,

This is endangering our lives already,

the source said.

Our Correspondent gathered that three nurses had tested positive for COVID-19 at the IDH.

Also, one nurse at Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, Ikeja, and three nurses at Alimosho General Hospital, had tested positive for COVID-19.

The Medical Guild also disclosed that three of its members at Alimosho General Hospital and LASUTH tested positive for COVID-19, saying,

We are worried about the cases we are going to have.

Secretary of Medical Guild, Dr. Ismail Ajibowo, said the Guild was concerned about the level of infections among healthcare workers, noting it had warned medical doctors against attending to patients without adequate PPE if they must avoid community transmission.

All patients are COVID-19 suspects,

Ajibowo warned, adding,

We are frontline health care workers, so we knew it was going to happen one way or the other.

Asked why there was shortage of PPE, Ajibowo said a lot of testing had been done

and we are not even worried about the cases we have now, but the cases we are going to have later because of community transmission, and health workers in government hospitals will be the ones to face the pandemic head-on.

We are in a war situation and healthcare workers are the soldiers.

In all fairness, they are providing PPE but it’s not enough. Some patients lie about their medical and travel history.

He said while adopting the slogan of “No PPE, No work”, healthcare workers should make rational use of the PPE.

It’s not everybody that will wear the Hazmat suit. There are different levels of PPE that is expected for everybody to wear. Everybody won’t wear the same thing, depending on the level of exposure.

The level of your exposure determines the kind of PPE to wear, but everybody is expected to wear a form of PPE.

Also, the public needs to know that lying to health workers won’t help them or us. They must be sincere and say the truth anytime they come to the hospital.

Most of the health care workers are affected due to wrong information given by patients and that’s a big problem,

Ajibowo added.

According to him, the doctors are trained and retrained for disease management.

As I speak with you, there is a training that is ongoing by the government and the Health Service Commission and they provide PPE.

The same problem we have here is what we have everywhere in the world, but the PPE is not enough and Nigeria is a country where we import virtually everything.

So, if other countries don’t have it, that means the people who are producing do not have enough in their country and it’s a big challenge,

Ajibowo said.

Justin Nwosu

Justin Nwosu is the founder and publisher of Flavision. His core interest is in writing unbiased news about Nigeria in particular and Africa in general. He’s a strong adherent of investigative journalism, with a bent on exposing corruption, abuse of power and societal ills.