“The Nurses Acted Like They Didn’t Care About My Mother” — 5 Nigerians Share the Reality of Using Government Hospitals

For many Nigerians, government hospitals are the first option when they need medical care. But getting treated can come with its own frustrations; From long waiting times and unresponsive staff to experiences that leave patients questioning the quality of care they receive, the stories can be difficult to hear. Still, not every experience is negative. We asked Nigerians to share what it’s like to get medical care at government-run hospitals, and these are their stories.

My mum was very sick and was admitted to a general hospital in Lagos, where she eventually died. Even before that traumatic day, I had noticed that the service from some of the hospital staff was very poor, but what happened on the day she passed is something I still find difficult to process.

That day, I was in the hospital room with my mum when I noticed that something was wrong. I didn’t want to believe that she had passed, so I went to call one of the nurses to come and check her.

The nurse told me she had just resumed duty and was busy, so she couldn’t come immediately. I insisted that she come because I needed someone to check on my mum. When she eventually came in, she checked on my mum and then left the room. She didn’t do anything else. My mum just lay there, still on oxygen.

For about two hours, nobody came to check on her or even ask what was happening. I was already crying and yelling because I knew that she had passed.

I eventually told a friend what was happening, and she advised that I go and get the hospital staff to come and take my mum’s body away.

They didn’t tell me my mother had died. I figured it out myself, and they didn’t take away her body until I got them to. That experience was horrible. Dealing with the loss of my mum was already too much for me. Having to fight for someone to tend to her body made everything much worse.

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I was feeling very dizzy and sick, so my mum took me to the general hospital in Agbor, Delta state. I thought I would get checked out and be on my way, but the whole experience was unnecessarily frustrating from the moment I got there.

The staff were very rude, and there were so many processes I had to go through before I could even get a hospital card. Everything took so long, and there were so many unnecessary steps.

After finally getting the card, I still had to do some tests before I could see the doctor. When I got to where they were doing the tests, there was already a long queue. I ended up waiting for about three hours. After waiting for all that time, they eventually told me that they wouldn’t be able to do the test that day and that I had to come back the next day.

I was already feeling sick when I got to the hospital, so having to spend hours waiting only to be told to come back another day was exhausting. The whole experience was terrible.

I was at a general hospital for a checkup, and I was sitting at the reception waiting for my turn when someone suddenly rushed in shouting, “Emergency! Emergency! Emergency!”

They were calling for the nurses to come and get a doctor because someone needed urgent medical attention. I was expecting everyone to jump into action immediately, but that wasn’t what happened.

The nurses didn’t seem bothered at all. There was no sense of urgency, and they didn’t appear to care that someone was having an emergency right in front of them.

It took about five to ten minutes before a doctor came to attend to the person. That experience made me realise how poorly human life can sometimes be treated in government hospitals. The lack of urgency was disturbing.

I went to a general hospital in Shomolu for my postnatal care, and honestly, I had a good experience.

The nurses were very nice and kind, and the service was good. They were also well-trained, and I felt like they knew what they were doing.

From the way the nurses attended to me to the general quality of service, I was impressed with the experience.

I know people often have bad experiences at government hospitals, but mine was different. The staff were helpful, professional and kind throughout my postnatal care.

My son was playing at school when he got a bead stuck in his ear, so I took him to a general hospital to get it removed. When we got there, the nurses said they couldn’t touch it because they were waiting for the doctors to come. The doctor who was supposed to be on duty wasn’t around either, so we just kept waiting.

I waited and waited. At some point, his ear started bleeding, and I became even more worried.

I eventually had to take him to a private hospital. When we got there, they attended to him almost immediately, and it didn’t take up to 30 minutes for them to remove the bead and sort everything out. I was so frustrated that day. It was traumatising.

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