It was 4:15 pm when Malam Tijani Adamu rushed his pregnant wife Ashiatu to the Basic Health Care Centre (BHC) in Chamo where he lives. Tijani, who was looking forward to having his first child, was taken aback when he was told he needed to take his wife to another health facility in Dutse.
He was especially concerned when the staff informed him that his wife might not be able to attend due to complications caused by time wasted. Tijani inquired as to why his wife couldn’t be seen at Chamo BHC and was informed that there was no facility for his wife’s particular issue at the BHC in Chamo.
Unlike Mallam Tijani, Mallam Adamu and his pregnant wife were able to arrive at the hospital early enough to be attended to and delivered their baby in the new L1 block of the Chamo BHC’s maternity wing.
Mallam Adamu’s wife would not have been able to give birth in the new maternity block two weeks ago due to a lack of medical facilities, according to Mr. Rabiu Alichamo, who oversees the operation of the BHC in Chamo.
According to Mr Rabiu Alichamo, they have been unable to use the building for over a year since the completion of the BHC’s maternity wing due to a lack of adequate medical equipment for the maternity wing to be functional. He stated that since the building’s completion in July 2020, the BHC’s management has been gathering hospital equipment in bits until now, when they have deemed it safe to begin full operation in the building.
He complained that the lack of a drainage channel in the maternity wing’s delivery room would have caused a further delay in the use of the completed block, but they had to improvise by using a mopping bucket to clean up the water and blood during delivery. He went on to say that the health care centre’s management has made it a priority to ensure that there is a drainage channel in the BHC’s delivery room.
Mr. Rabiu Alichamo took the Dataphyte project tracking team to the old maternity wing to demonstrate what he meant by a delivery room drainage system.
Babandoki Gen. Enter. Nig Ltd was awarded the contract for the construction of L1 block as maternity wing Lot-7 at Chamo BHC in Dutse LGA on January 14, 2020.
The contract number JEC/6B/2020/VOL.I/17 was awarded for N17.14 million and was expected to be completed and handed over to the Jigawa State Ministry of Health within 20 weeks. Despite the fact that the facility was completed within the contract period, it was not fully utilised due to a lack of medical equipment in the health centre.
In response, Engr. Shaaibu Ali of Jigawa State Due Process stated that the problem was caused by inadequate planning on the part of the Jigawa State Ministry of Health. He also cited numerous examples of health projects in Jigawa state where construction work was completed but the project was not put to use because it was waiting for the next budget cycle, when a budget provision would be made for the supply and installation of medical equipment in the health centre.
The Dataphyte project tracking and monitoring team that the Chamo BHC project, had been completed in accordance with the requirements in the bill of quantity. Although the project was completed two years after the contract was awarded.
The BHC’s Chief Operating Staff, however noted that, while the project was completed to meet the specifications in the project bill of quantity, failure to factor in a drainage channel in the delivery room nearly made the project to be non-functional. He pleaded that the BHC’s management or other experienced healthcare providers be sufficiently involved in the construction of such a building to ensure that it is constructed to meet the hospital’s needs.
Mr Alichamo also explained to the Dataphyte team how difficult it is for Chamo residents to get to the BHC due to a lack of transportation.
According to him, if an emergency arises that necessitates a patient being rushed to Dutse or any higher level health care facility, this would be impossible due to the lack of an ambulance. Like Tijani, most people use a cattle drawn cart as a means of transporting both people and goods.
He stated that the BHC ambulance was in poor condition after being involved in an accident while transporting referred patients to another healthcare facility, and that they have not been able to fix it or acquire another one since then.
Mr Alichamo also lamented the lack of water on hospital grounds, stating that staff and patients must queue at a nearby community borehole to obtain water for use at the health care facility.
Jigawa state ranked low in the 2018 NDHS survey, women are less likely to give birth in clinics; and only one in every five pregnant women (20.1 percent) gives birth in a health facility. At least 79.9 percent of pregnant women give birth at home.
Hopefully, the delivery of this facility will provide the people of Chamo and Jigawa with an improved maternal facility, as. Although hospital staff at the health centre advised that women are given incentives such as free delivery and antenatal care to encourage them to visit the health centre and avoid complications that lead to child and maternal mortality and to increase the number of people who will come to the hospital.