Doctors, others express concern over effects of medical mistakes in North-east
Feb. 19, 2025
Some doctors and other health workers have expressed concern over the rising cases of patients being harmed due to medical errors by personnel in the North-east.
Errors in diagnosis, errors in medicine prescriptions and treatments as well as inappropriate use of drugs were said to be responsible for the death of many patients.
Medical facilities in the region were not immediately ready to give out statistics on patients death due to doctors or other health personnel’s errors in the region.
However, some of the health workers and doctors acknowledged the effects of the sad development in the sector.
Dr Goni Gambo, a member of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), in Maiduguri said diagnosis errors were serious concern in healthcare system.
Gambo said a national survey on medication errors among health professionals in Nigeria revealed a 47 per cent prevalence of self-reported medication errors.
“The study identified overwork as a primary factor contributing to these errors, with 59.2 per cent of respondents citing it as a reason for being error prone.
“Alarmingly, only 35.5 per cent had ever reported their mistakes, and 33.4 per cent did not believe reporting was necessary,” the expert said.
According to him, such errors often stem from inadequate training, overworked staff, and insufficient quality control in laboratories.
“These mistakes can have dire consequences for patients.
“The impact is particularly severe in rural areas where healthcare facilities are often under-resourced and understaffed,” Gambo said.
Dr Abubakar Kaumi, the NMA’s Chairman, Yobe Council, who also acknowledged the problem in the state, insisted that the Incidences do happened occasionally.
Kaumi, however, linked the problems in Yobe to impersonation and quackery.
“The impersonation also comes in such a way that someone who is not a professional in that aspect, maybe a Nurse, a Physiotherapist, a Lab Technician or Community Health Extension Worker will parade himself as a doctor, thereby causing havoc.
“This happens all over. It is not peculiar to Yobe state alone. It happens and we are seeing a lot of such cases,” the NMA chairman said.
Dr Aisha Ibrahim, a Private Consultant physician in Maiduguri, also told NAN that a significant number of patients have reported receiving incorrect diagnoses, leading to inappropriate treatments.
Ibrahim said that the issues have led to severe health complications, adding that in some cases it led to fatalities among patients.
She said inaccuracies in laboratory results, such as elevated cholesterol or urea levels, have led to misdiagnoses of conditions like Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD), prompting unnecessary and potentially harmful interventions.
Mr Micheal Fidelist, another medical practitioner, however, argued that
laboratory practices have always come under criticism.
According to him, medical errors resulting from using incorrect sample bottles and mislabeling specimens are also contributing to diagnostic inaccuracies.
“For instance, a patient might be wrongly diagnosed with diabetes due to a laboratory error indicating high blood sugar levels, leading to unwarranted treatment plans,” he said.
Mr Ishaku Dunama, a pharmacist attributed the prevalence of expired and substandard drugs to poor regulatory oversight.
He said some pharmacies and stores, stock expired drugs due to inefficiencies in the drug supply chain across different states in the country.
Dunama also linked cases of wrong diagnoses to the use of outdated medical equipment, human error, lack of manpower, and insufficient training for healthcare workers on modern diagnostic equipment
A Maiduguri-based Consultant, Dr Usman Baba, attributed such cases to obsolete laboratory equipment and poorly trained personnel.
“Many private hospitals in Maiduguri lack modern testing machines, leading to frequent errors in diagnosis.
“Some hospitals don’t even calibrate their machines regularly, and this affects test accuracy.
“As it is most of the equipment at the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital (UMTH) have developed faults due to the flooding which severely affected the hospital. So, the demand for diagnostic tests has increased,” he said.
Another Pharmacist, Dr Fatima Kyari, at Borno State Hospital Management Board, however, confirmed that some Hospitals and Pharmacies dispensed expired drugs due to poor regulatory oversight.
“Some Pharmacists, due to desperation or ignorance, sell expired drugs without considering the health risks.
“This is a major issue, and the government needs to strengthen drug monitoring systems,” Kyari said.
A nurse at a private hospital, who pleaded anonymity, however, alleged that some doctors were in the habit of misinterpreting test results, leading to wrong prescriptions.
“Some doctors are overwhelmed with patients and don’t take time to verify test results properly.
“This has led to cases of wrong treatments, which could be fatal,” she said.
However, some of the patients family members also shared their experiences regarding the issues.
Aliyu Mustapha, a 42-year-old patient, was given Blood Pressure medication meant for another patient.
“I was already feeling weak when I noticed my name was not on the drug package. I returned to the hospital and I was told it was a mistake,” he said.
Mrs Grace Ali, a concerned parent, shared her experience after receiving a wrong prescription for her 3-year-old daughter without a proper medical test.
Ali said she visited a private laboratory where her child was wrongly diagnosed with malaria and after purchasing malaria drugs, her daughter’s condition became worse.
“I later took my child to a hospital for a repeat test, where it was confirmed that she had an infection rather than malaria and we had purchase another drug for her.
Similarly, Mr Ibrahim Sale expressed displeasure over the incorrect genotype diagnosis of his son at birth in a private hospital in Yola.
According to him, after the birth of his son, several tests were conducted, and the results indicated he was hemoglobin AS.
“However, as he grew, he consistently fell ill and exhibited stunted growth.
“I was so concerned about his health, I had to sought further medical options at two different hospitals, where additional tests confirmed that my son had sickle cell disease.
“I was devastated and traumatised by the experience.
“This completely changed our lives as a family, and we had to take full responsibility for providing him with the care he deserves,” he added.
Another patient who simply gave her name as Maimunah, in Maiduguri, recounted her ordeal:
“In February 2020, I collapsed and was rushed to the Specialist hospital in Maiduguri, where I received four pints of blood.
“Despite this, the underlying cause of my condition remained undiagnosed due to medical negligence.”
Another patient, who preferred to remain anonymous, shared: “I was misdiagnosed with tuberculosis based on faulty laboratory results at the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital.
“It was only after seeking a second opinion that I discovered I didn’t have the disease.
“The unnecessary medications I took caused severe side effects,” he said.
Aisha Mohammed, a 34-year-old business woman, who was diagnosed as HIV-positive at a private hospital in Maiduguri almost commit suicide on account of wrong diagnoses believed to be real.
Shocked by the result, she sought a second opinion at UMTH where she was tested again and found to be negative.
Meanwhile a legal practitioner, Muhammed Abdulsalam, however, urged government to strengthen regulations, conduct regular inspections and provide modern equipment to hospitals.
The lawyer said the legal framework governing medical practice in Nigeria, including the National Health Act (2014) and the Medical and Dental
Practitioners’ Act (2004), outlines the standards of care expected from healthcare providers.
He said despite these regulations, enforcement remained weak and accountability was often lacking.
For Dr Yunusa Dahiru, a Consultant Radiologist at Modibo Adama University Teaching Hospital (MAUTH), Yola, the healthcare professionals were committed to providing quality services to patients.
He said MAUTH, the Specialist Hospital, and several private healthcare facilities in Adamawa have standard medical equipment to ensure quality service delivery.
Dahiru, who doubles as Chairman of the NMA, Adamawa Council, insisted that doctors and other health workers understood professional standards and were well trained in operating modern medical equipment.
However, Dunama recommended stricter regulations for private laboratories, mandatory training for healthcare workers, penalties for misdiagnosis and improved manpower in the sector.
According to him, adherence to these measures would help restore public confidence in the healthcare system.
Kaumi emphasised the need for collaborative efforts to combat the menace and safeguard the health of the citizens in the country.
Gambo urged public institutions to improve diagnostic accuracy and patient safety through continuous staff training and the implementation of stricter quality control measures in their laboratories.
He said addressing staff workload and laboratory practices were crucial to enhancing patient safety and restoring public confidence in the healthcare system.(NAN)