A Doctor Lost to Stress, In the Place of Healing — Rest in Peace Dr. Femi
How many more doctors must die before a reform happens? Another young doctor is gone!
It's been barely 8 months since I started practicing the so-called dream of my life, and guess what? We've lost two excellent doctors.
Yep, I know everyone dies and there is nothing special with just one of them being a doctor that died. But that's not the point. It's the fact that the singular fact that what causes the death is not sickness, not because of war, not because of an accident, not because of some natural disaster — but because of Stress, overwork, and sheer inhumanity from a system that refuses to see doctors as human beings
The shortage of doctors in Nigeria is no longer a news. Even the unborn children already know about it and there is absolutely nothing being done about it rather the working system and government is trying to frustrate the hell out of you to make life miserable for the very few toiling day and night just to keep the health sector running.
Imagine this: A hospital working with 20 doctors loses about 5 doctors to the JAPA syndrome and the 15 doctors are made to do the work formerly done by 20 doctors
And not so long, about 10 more doctors leave and the remaining 5 doctors are left to carry the workload of 20 doctors and they do this with no increment rather with abuses from the medical elders as to why they are lazy and get to hear the useless old lines: "During my time, I was the only doctor in the whole hospital"
Does this make any sense to you? Even if you were the only doctor at your time which obviously I see as fallacies but does it automatically mean that every other person must go through what you went through?Where's your humanity? Where's your conscience?
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Dr. Femi died right inside the hospital!!!
He was feeling a bit under the weather, called in sick but was told to report to work that way and guess what?
The doctor that cared for many patients, the doctor that fought to keep many patients alive was short of keeping his own life!!!
He died right inside his workplace!!! Dead before he could even get the help he had been giving others all along.
A hospital meant to be a place that should be dedicated to healing became the graveyard of one of its own.
What pains me the most is that he saw it coming, he spoke out! He didn't keep it to himself but then, instead of compassion, instead of relief, they insisted he report to work and out of humility, he showed up... Someone who has been on call for the past 72hours (Days without proper sleep nor proper food)
He is not the first dying out of work stress, He's probably not going to be the last from the way things are going... And yet, no one is saying anything! No one is doing anything! No one is asking questions!!
The dead makes the headline just for couple of days and then gets forgotten while the ruthless seniors go scot-free after making a family suffer through the pains of not just loosing a son but loosing a medical doctor they sacrificed lots to train only to lose him few months after graduation.
This should make us all angry. We're not machines! We are not robots! We are only but Humans! Flesh and blood like you are!! It should make us demand reform.
Doctors deserve proper working hour and they deserve a system where their health and lives are valued.
So today, we mourn. We mourn Dr. Femi Rotifa , a man who could have lived if only he was allowed to rest.
Farewell Dr. Femi Rotifa, I never knew you in person, but what people say about you sends a powerful message as to the type of doctor you were.. it's so sad Nigeria happened to you! A system that thrives on exploiting young doctors killed him.
May the angels guide you
Farewell, Champ 🕊️ 🩺 💊