Spinal cord patients call for subsidy on drugs
Spinal cord patients in Kano under the auspices of Spinal Cord Injury Association of Nigeria (SCIAN) have appealed to Kano state government to subsidise cost of drugs to alleviate their difficulties in accessing healthcare services. The patients have also advocated for the creation of a ward for spinal cord injury patients at recently commissioned hospital […]
Spinal cord patients in Kano under the auspices of Spinal Cord Injury Association of Nigeria (SCIAN) have appealed to Kano state government to subsidise cost of drugs to alleviate their difficulties in accessing healthcare services.
The patients have also advocated for the creation of a ward for spinal cord injury patients at recently commissioned hospital in the state, Giginyu Specialist Hospital.
The Chairman of the Association in the state, Alhaji Abdul Abdullahi Haruna made the call when he led a delegation of some members of the association on a courtesy visit at the Kano office of the Daily Trust newspaper.
Haruna expressed concern over the condition of some members of the group whom he said could not access better healthcare services due to cost implication of managing their condition.
“Managing our condition is very expensive, from time to time, a patient needs to go for Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scan and it requires huge amount of money. Because of the financial implications of this spinal cord injury, some of us have sold their properties, some have even sold their beddings to raise money to access medical care,” he lamented.
He urged the government to decongest National Orthopedic Hospital Dala of spinal cord injury patients by creating a special ward for spinal cord injury patients at Giginyu Specialist Hospital.
‘’Presently, the ward reserved for spinal cord injury patients at the the Dala Orthopedic Hospital is full to capacity, therefore, we are urging the Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje to create a ward for spinal cord injury patients at Giginyu specialist hospital in order to decongest Dala hospital for better care’’ he said.
Professor Dahiru Falalu Ibrahim, a pathologist at Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital (AKTH) who has been confined to a wheel chair for over 20 years, identified stigma from friends and relatives as the major challenge associated with spinal cord injury.
He appealed to the state government to establish spinal cord rehabilitation centre in the state for better medical care to the patients of the illness.