Medical staff at Chilenje hospital allegedly withheld medical treatment for an accident victim on Saturday night.The man was injured after being hit by a drunken driver in Woodlands at around 22:00hrs.After noticing the barely conscious man was still breathing,four people who happened to be at the scene of the accident
decided to take him to Chilenje hospital.
Upon arrival medical staff allegedly refused to help remove the patient from the vehicle. The good Samaritans then removed the patient and took him into the hospital.However,medical staff further refused to administer treatment because the accident victim did not have a police report. The good Samaritans then decided to go and get a police report and upon returning with it found that the injured man was still laying in reception unattended to.
Below is the account of the incident posted to Zambian Watch
I work for Pick and Pay Zambia. As we were dropped from work yesterday, around 22:50, we came across an accident where a drunken driver hit a car that was being pushed buy two guys in Woodlands, near St John’s clinic. We were the 4 of us including the driver of the bus.
We noticed that the man who got hit was still breathing and we decided to give a helping hand by taking him to the nearest hospital.
We took him to Chilenje clinic which is now a hospital but the treatment we received from the doctors on duty, you won’t believe it. Firstly, they refused to help us remove the man from the bus to take him inside the hospital and when we did, we where told that they were not going to start treatment on him unless, we provide a police report.
Moreover, we had no idea who the man was, but we decided to go to the police. When we got back the man was still by the reception and was not attended to.
Trying to reason with them, they became very rude and started telling us that we should have taken him to the police first instead of the hospital.
Please post this for me so that people can see how these people treat patients. I was deeply hurt by this.
What to Do If You’re First on the Scene of An Accident
Many first aid authorities use the initialism DR.ABC to help people remember the process that those first on the scene should go through. The five steps are Danger, Response, Airway, Breathing and Circulation. Whether you’re wondering what to do when someone is knocked unconscious, or what to do after an accident involving a vehicle, much of the following will help you have a positive impact on the situation.
Step 1: Identify and Mitigate Potential Dangers
The hazard involved in the accident is potentially still a danger to the casualty, other people, and you as a first responder. As a result, it’s imperative that you ensure the area is safe before you take any further steps, or begin giving aid to the casualty. Use your own judgement and common sense to make the area safe. If you’re attending a road traffic incident, then this may mean attempting to block traffic, or if a machine is involved you should switch it off.
Step 2: Call for Help
Accidents are far easier to deal with, and are more likely to result in a positive outcome, if you are not alone in dealing with them. If appropriate, shout for help in order to have other people arrive on the scene to help you with clearing obstructions or giving first aid to other casualties. However, you should not leave the scene to get help until you have determined the condition of any casualties.
Step 3: Check for a Response
Your priority is now to deal with the casualty, and the first step in this process is to establish the severity of their condition. Check to see if they are responsive by firstly talking to them loudly and clearly, to see if you receive a reply. If you do not, then you can carefully shake their shoulders, or give their earlobe a short pinch. If you suspect a severe bodily injury, then an earlobe pinch is the safest option.
Should you fail to receive a response at this point, you should move onto step 4. If there are multiple casualties, any that are unresponsive must take priority.
Step 4: Check the Casualty’s Airway
Ensuring the airway is open and clear is the first step in keeping the casualty in the most stable condition possible.
If the casualty is responsive, then help them to clear their own airway if necessary. If the casualty has been determined to be unresponsive, then you will need to manually place them into a position that ensures the airway is open. In an unresponsive adult:
Gently place your hand on the casualty’s forehead, and tilt the head backwards, which will help to open the mouth
Using two fingers of your other hand, lift the chin to help create an unobstructed airway
Note: If you suspect that the casualty has a spinal injury, then you should avoid tilting their head back. Instead, you should use the jaw thrust method, whereby you use two hands to carefully lift their jaw.
If there is something obstructing the airway, use your index and middle finger to clear the airway.
Step 5: Check the Casualty’s Breathing
Once you have established that the casualty has an unobstructed airway, you need to determine if they are breathing normally. This can be done through several means:
- Listen to their chest and mouth to see if you can hear the casualty breathing
- Watch to see if the chest rises and falls normally
- Feel for breaths being taken by placing your cheek beside the casualty’s mouth
If the casualty is not breathing you should then begin giving chest compressions and, if confident, rescue breaths.Click here for a step by step guide for CPR
Step 5: Check the Casualty’s Circulation
The final step in the primary survey is to identify any major bleeding. If there are extensive wounds, try to control the bleeding using pressure to the area using a cloth. Press down with your palms rather than your finger tips.If a limb is wounded, then raising it above heart level will help to reduce the flow of blood. If you can stop the bleeding at the scene of an accident, you can also help prevent the casualty from going into shock.
Once you’ve made efforts to control the bleeding, you or another person on the scene must then immediately seek medical assistance.
Zambia we keeping trekking backwards, surely we would rather let a person die of their injuries because they do not have a medical report? Where is the conscious for those who are supposed to be helping the sick and the injured. Such laws or whatever you want to call them must be gotten rid of because they are not progressive and are a risk to humanity.
Heeeesh…
Why not medical report first, to put in police report?
I do not want to believe that this is common practice but a case of gross misinterpretation of procedure by the medical officers on duty on that day and most likely by someone in the wrong profession. Life is more important than following st.upid procedures like getting a police report.But it will be nice to hear the other side of the story. BTW are there emergency services/ambulances that you can call in Zambia now? That Road looks like an accident waiting to happen.How do you design such steep/sharp drain systems? (Made in China?)
I was driving home and the driver of a speeding car coming my way lost control causing him to go over the pavement and into the clearing nearby. I stopped my car to see if the occupants of the vehicle were ok and any help i could render. No one was injured in the car, and i offered to go get a tow truck for them. When i returned the driver of the car had called a lot of his friend and they were all waiting to beat me alleging i had caused the accident. I could not reason with any of them as some pulled me into a toyota corolla where they demanded i pay them or they would make me disappear. They robbed me of all the cash i had and then let me go. The police who eventually came on the scene were not very helpful as they threatened to lock me up for reasons best known to themselves. I…
Dr Chilufya, please change this draconian law, it’s too horrifying. Let injured persons be treated first before you determine whether he is kawalala or not, imagine if it is your father, Dr Chilufya!
One day we will see rotting corpses on our streets. None will be a good Samaritan, the hospitals will not be bothered, and the traffic police won’t be getting tips from dead people.
sad reading indeed…
Our system is f**k*d up! I have witnessed a similar “police report before treatment” scenario. Something really has to be done about this senseless procedure otherwise we are going to be losing lives that could be saved.
That what got me annoyed with the fire engines for USD 42 million …..we do not even have a dedicated paramedic team that people can call in such situations. It is not advisable for lay people who are untrained to move an accident victim if there is no risk of fire …however given our circumstances u did well to take him to the clinic despite the pathetic and incorrigible response by clinic stuff
Sh***t so called Christian country
Next time I find an accident we just look and leave.
That is very sad .
When you watch CNN,BBC and Ajazeera reporting on war torn countries like Syria , Yemen ,Iraq etc. that is when you appreciate real medical practitioners.
In Zambia because the guy is poor and has no political name/ influence then he is not worth their time.
But they are good at giving fake medical report to send a healthy politician to ICU so that the fellow does not answer to his corruption allegations.
Money at work !
The police report thing should come to an end. Is anybody in govt listening?
sad reading indeed,those medical staff should be discipline.There many aim is to save life not to wait for medical report from the police.whether that patient is a criminal injured the hospital should try to save the life of that person.There is no law that require an injured accident victim to produce a medical report before being treated.usually the issue of medical report comes in when the victim dies or want to use it in court.never the less the medical report can be issued if after a victim is dead,even after so many years as long as the medical file of that person is available.That is a lame excuse to demand the medical report form before a victim is treated and laziness.
If they don’t know who Chitalu Chilufya is, they will now know what he’s made of. He’s ruthless when he confronts nonsense, ask ba Solwezi General Hospital. Just wait and see, they will cry
What those health care providers did was very wrong. First you treat a victim, police report issue comes later. Same applies to assault cases, victims are denied medical care when they go without police reports.
Sorry to say but this is typical of Zambian health workers. very unprofessional, very unsympathetic, cruel. very sad. This is just the tip of the iceberg
I hit two ladies on GER ad I took them to Levy Hospital. They were immediately admitted and I was asked to get a police report which I did. Some of these nurses are just not well trained
The attitude of staff at Chilenje first level hospital leaves much to be desired. I am a victim of their bad attitude. I took my daughter who is a sickle cell patient there at one time. We had to wait for a doctor from 19:00 to 23:00 and the child continued to agonize with pain and the nurses couldn’t administer any pain killer. The pain become too severe and in the end, the child developed a stroke. Govt. has done its part at this hospital but we need overhaul of staff.
Comment:Why do people like talking too much on matters we don’t understand? There’s nothing wrong taking the victim to Police station to ascertain the circumstances of the scenario depending on the condition of the victim. Actually,RTA victim don’t need Police Medical Report to start with, they are supposed to be attended to just upon arrival at any facility nearby.If one is in critical condition i don’t think there’s need to seek Police Medical Report but the good Samaritan should provide personal details for further information and investigation especially when the victim is unstable. In most cases, the so called good Samaritans are the main culprits and take advantage of the victim just dump the victim at Hospital especially if the victim is unconscious,then disappear for good…
Such uncaring health personnel should be taken note of and reported to the relevant authorities so that they are posted to rural areas. Isn’t there a disciplining body for heath personnel? Dr.Mujajati what does your council do?
Those good Samaritans shouldn’t have picked up that guy first. It was a very wrong move they made, since it’s Zambia yes they did what they had to do. They risking that guy’s life and their lives too! As first responders which is I know is non exisitance in Zambia is to make sure that person is given proper care and CPR before rushing him the the medical center.
You are playing with Sadistic Zambian nurses mudala! These chaps are the worst cretins in the civil service. They will watch you die and laugh just because your relatives were asking about the dirty and smelly bed sheets, they will use the same needles even 5 times on different patients, they can leave someone with soiled underwear, they will feed you nshima with cockroaches. If you make a mistake of asking them to help your sick relative when they are talking on the phone baba watch out your relative will end up dead in the mortuary in less than a week. I’m not joking Zambian nurses are a danger to us all they kill out of spite and if only we had more pathologists I can assure you they would find many deaths in hospitals as a result of negligence from nurses.
In simple words Zambian nurses are sadistic cretins!
Ati Christians Nation… ifya bufi. Even the nation’s that are not so religious behave much better towards the sick…
Ba satama ba fisamina muli yense…
I woudnt disagree of such ,,it is so common at this hospital ,i was once a victim during child birth,,,