How poor health support, lack of medical equipment caused death of airstrike victims at teaching hospital in Kaduna

By solacebase.com On Dec 17, 2023

victims, military bombing, Barau Dikko Teaching Hospital, medical equipments Kaduna, Tudun Biri, — Some of the victims of the military bombing admitted at Barau Dikko Teaching Hospital, Kaduna

“I feel even more traumatized because my granddaughter was still alive when we rushed her to the hospital, although it was quite a distance, but if there had been a medical team on ground when we got there, and there had also been oxygen and other emergency response at the hospital, she would have survived.

By Aliyu Inuwa Mansir and Suhaib Auwal

While still in shock of the air strike attack in their community, residents of Tudun Biri village in Igabi local government area of Kaduna State will not any time soon recover from the shock of the death of their loved ones as even the sound of a moving aircraft scares them into hiding and running for fear of any recurrence.

As residents continue to count their loss, survivors at the hospital are struggling for survival in the hands of a few medical health workers while those booked for surgery are waiting on time as they watch the clock tick daily before their eyes.

In this report by SOLACEBASE, Aliyu Inuwa Mansir and Suhaib Auwal revealed how poor healthcare support and lack of medical equipment caused the death of victims rushed to Barau Dikko Teaching Hospital after the attack where admitted survivors are currently receiving at the hospital.

Tudun Biri Where Maulud Celebration Turned Funeral

While the sound of the airstrike still echoes in the ears of many, their chicks remain wet, as tears will never cease to drop from their eyes.

With a heavy heart, it was nearly impossible for Malam Ahmad Adamu to speak to these reporters as his mind was still fresh with the thought of burying 3 of his biological children two girls and one boy, and also his granddaughter who was just eight years old.

Malam Ahmad Adamu

“I wake up every day praying that all of this is just a movie and we are characters in it, sadly, it’s an unchanging reality and pain my family will have to live with forever. If my wife had gone there on time as she had planned, then i would have become a widower mourning his entire family burnt down by a careless airstrike,” Adamu said.

“I feel even more traumatized because my granddaughter was still alive when we rushed her to the hospital, although it was quite a distance, but if there had been a medical team on ground when we got there, and there had also been oxygen and other emergency response at the hospital, she would have survived.

“While I won’t blame the hospital, because they didn’t cause the airstrike, I just feel so terrible that the hospital could not provide the immediate medical response needed to keep my granddaughter alive,” Adamu added.

Some of the victims of the military bombing admitted at Barau Dikko Teaching Hospital, Kaduna

Shuiabu Musa, the Deputy Chief Medical Director of Barau Dikko Teaching Hospital from record provided the total number of victims the hospital received “We received a total of 77 survivors from the airstrike, these numbers include, male and female, including children”

Dr. Shuiabu Musa

Although Musa refused to give the number of death recorded from the victims rushed to the hospital and what caused their deaths. Interestingly, families of victims could not hide the truth as they lamented the poor treatment being received and the cause of the victims who later died after they were brought to the hospital.

Ibrahim Adamu lamented that despite the injury he sustained all over his body, he was only administered one injunction.

“I know the government or military will go to the media to say they are giving us the best treatment as compensation and food as well, it is good that you have come to hear the truth from us, all I got is an injection and the bandages on the injuries, and the food we received few days after the governor came and left, there has not been any treatment, injection or medication again,” Adamu said.

Ibrahim Adam

SOLACEBASE reports that Eid-ul-Maulud in the Islamic calendar is a remarkable feast celebrated to mark the birth of the Holy Prophet (PBUH) in Islamic practice and for the people of Tudun Biri community, it is a feast that turned burial they will never forget in the history of the community.

17 years Nusaiba Nura, survived the airstrike but had an object pierced into her stomach, while she is still battling for her life, awaiting her appointment for surgery, she lamented the neglect of the hospital and the kind of treatment being administered to her.

“I was only an accidental victim because I am not from Tudun Biri community, I was invited to the Maulud event, and I have been informed that everyone around me died on the spot, I am psychologically unstable and my mind is troubled.

Nusaiba Nura

“The doctor recommended me for surgery after he did some scans, which is taking forever, no one is even asking us how we feel, it appears we are just on our own in this hospital and that scares me because my parent can’t afford to pay any bills should there be a need that I should be taken to a private hospital to get the surgery done,” Nura said.

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Adamu Umar now sleeps beside his 23-year-old son in the hospital who happens to be the only survivor among his 7 children, he described the hospital situation as a hope with no support.

“If Isah dies, then that is all for me, 7 of my biological children already died, and 4 of my brother’s children as well, so all have got is Isah, you can see him sleeping with so much pain on his left hand which is badly damaged, if the hospital are providing the medical help we need, Isah will be much better by now, but we are faced with a decision of taking him to a traditional home to get him treated and keep him alive,” Umar said.

Adamu Umar

Hospital Management Provides Justification

Shuiabu Musa the Deputy Chief Medical Director of the Hospital explained that the hospital could only do what they can do and what is available at their disposal to work with.

“Every profession has experts, but as an expert, there are required tools needed to work and deliver on the job given to you. When some of the victims were rushed here, we had to buy some things on the spot, we needed oxygen to place some victims on, and all we could do was do our best to save lives and nothing more.

“If you need a record of the number of deaths recorded since the victims were brought here, I can not provide it for you, all I can do is give you the figure of the total number of victims brought into the health facility and their gender, that I can do,” Musa said.

Accidents and Emergency Treatment Expert X-Ray Hospital Approach to Victims, Recommends Procedures.

Dr. Yakubu Inuwa a medical consultant, with the Accidents and Emergency Department, Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital (AKTH), described accidents and emergencies as injury and life-threatening emergencies, stating that Nigeria’s hospital emergency response to accidents is one of the worst globally contributing to death cases during an emergency.

“There are things we put in check when there is an emergency on ground, and one of those things is the medical standard of the health facility to attend to victims, followed by the medical equipment available to treat such victims, all of these are often overlooked,” Inuwa said.

“Assuming an accident victim in need of oxygen to keep the victim alive, someone who cannot breathe on his or her own due to the fatality of the injury sustained, and there is none, you automatically risk that patients live to death, that might be the case of Tudun-Biri Barau Dikko General Hospital where victims were moved to.

“In a case of accident emergency what is expected to be done first is to review if the patient is to be treated, transferred, or discharged, by the type of accidents, the doctor will be able to ascertain any of the three. In a situation where the victim has already lost breath, that is a serious sign of fast attention and response, if discovered that it is beyond the powers of the health practitioners on ground or the case where the hospital can’t handle such a case, it is advised that the patients be immediately transferred to a facility that can handle the case. No patients deserve to die from accidents,” Inuwa added.

“As a specialist in Accidents and Emergency, I always advise that even if an accident victim is recovering, he or she needs more attention as anything can trigger a new health situation and put their life at risk even while on admission.

This SOLACEBASE publication is produced with support from the Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism (WSCIJ) under the collaborative Media Engagement for Development, Inclusion, and Accountability Project (CMEDIA) funded by the MacArthur Foundation.