MONROVIA – About 50 resident doctors at the John F. Kennedy Memorial Medical Center (JFK) have begun to stay away from all clinical activities at the hospital and the maternity center due to their disappointment over the manner and form JFK administration handled the case of an exposed Resident to the Covid-19 while on duty, FrontPageAfrica has gathered.
Report by Lennart Dodoo, [email protected]
The residents comprise doctors undergoing specialized training at the Liberia College of Physicians and Surgeons (LCPS) and providing specialized services to the JKF Hospital and the Liberia-Japan Friendship Maternity Hospital.
The Residents, through a communication, had expressed to the administration their concerns over the exposure of their colleagues to COVID-19 positive individuals, making them high-risk cases, and applying no efforts to have them properly quarantined, rather sending them home to their families, thereby, putting their families at risk, too.
Sources within the JFK informed FrontPageAfrica that JFK administration failed to provide support for the resident that was exposed to the individual who tested positive.
“The Residents, in general, are utterly disappointed by this development. This is yet another classic indication that the administration of JFK does not take seriously the wellbeing of Residents at her institution. This attitude of carelessness and neglect meted against a colleague who became exposed while on duty at JFK strongly reaffirms that the safety, protection, and support of ALL Residents during these periods of crisis cannot be guaranteed by the administration of JFK”
– Resident Doctors at the John F. Kennedy Memorial Medical Center
The Resident, according to the source, has been left to make contacts with the National Public Health Institute and the Ministry of Health to remedy the issue.
The source also lamented that when the index case at the hospital was tested, it took the National Public Health Institute of Liberia (NPHIL) five days to give the results instead of the stated 24 hours. This, they said, had could have put many other Residents at risk.
“The Residents in general are utterly disappointed by this development. This is yet another classic indication that the administration of JFK does not take serious the wellbeing of Residents at her institution. This attitude of carelessness and neglect meted against a colleague who became exposed while on duty at JFK strongly reaffirms that the safety, protection and support of ALL Residents during these periods of crisis cannot be guaranteed by the administration of JFK. We believe that Resident(s) who unfortunately might be hazardously exposed and or contract this disease while serving JFK might be treated similarly or even worst by the JFK administration. This is unacceptable!” a copy the communication expressing their concerns stated.
Their demands
In this regard, the residents called on the JFK administration to provide a decent reserved place for them to self-quarantine when they get exposed to COVID-19.
They want residents who get exposed COVID-19 to be tested within a maximum of five whether they are symptomatic or not. They also want their benefit clearly stated.
According to them, they cannot commit to an institution which does not guarantee their safety and protection during crisis.
They, however, lamented that the hospital’s administration failed to give a response to their concerns despite a 48-hour ultimatum given for a redress.
“Over 48hrs since delivery of our communication to those concerned, there has been no acknowledgement of receipt of our communication nor has there been actions taken to address any of the demands listed,” a communication to all residents seen by FrontPageAfrica stated.
