Monrovia – Several Ebola survivors in Monrovia and environs have complained to the Social Mobilization and Advocacy team of the Partnership for Research on the Ebola Virus Disease in Liberia (PREVAIL) about what they described as poor and resentful treatment being melted out against them by health practitioners mainly clinicians at the J.F.K.’s PREVAIL enrolment site.
In a verbal complaint lodged recently during a one-day refresher training in Paynesville for Mobilizers and Communicators of PREVAIL, Ms. Elizabeth G. Vonleh, alleged that doctors/clinicians at the JFK’s Ebola enrolment site are in the constant habit of protractedly delaying them for up to four hours before attending to them.
According to Ms. Vonleh, she and her colleagues (Ebola survivors) often suffered from the lackadaisical attitude of health practitioners at the JFK-Ebola enrolment site; explaining that in compliance with instructions from PREVAIL for Ebola survivors to regularly revisit Medical Center where they got enrolled for medical check-up (update of their health conditions), they always leaved their various homes as early as 5:00am since they are expected to be at the JFK-site by 7am.
Ms. Vonleh whose statement was applauded by fellow Ebola survivors further narrated that when doctors/clinicians finally arrived around 9: am they would ignored their presence outside the JFK health facility, marched into the hospital facility only to begin calling them in for medical check-up by 11am.
She averred that this constant behavior was intolerable as it causes fatigue, strain, anger and hunger and as such, PREVAIL should intervene and be able to communicate to them the exact time doctors/clinicians would be available to provide them medical care at the JFK PREVAIL’s enrolment site.
Other speakers (Ebola survivors) indicated that whenever they go for routing medical check-up, doctors/clinicians mainly at the JFK-site often approached them in a very harsh manner when they questioned doctors’ lateness as they are often told “if you don’t have patience, you can go back home; we are not force to treat you, many of your friends are standing-by waiting and you are here giving us hard time”
But in response, the Advocacy Lead of PREVAIL Mr. Joseph Boye Cooper told the Ebola survivors that he has also received complaints from doctors at the three PREVAIL enrolment sites at the JFK , Duport Road and C.H. Rennie Hospitals in Monrovia, Paynesville and Kakata, Margibi County respectively that Ebola survivors are very impatience and quick to get angry.
Mr. Cooper explained that as the consequence of the Ebola disease onslaught, several Ebola survivors are suffering from many problems including quick-temper/temperament, forgetfulness, uneasiness/impatience, among others.
While admonishing them not to be deterred in making return medical visits to health facilities where they got enrolled in the Ebola Natural History Study also known as PREVAIL-3, Mr. Cooper promised to get in touch with doctors at the JFK-PREVAIL site to ascertain and ameliorate the perceived tension saying “this is an easy matter because I interact almost every day with doctors at the JFK-site where our head office is located.
