By Sola Ogundipe

In Nigeria today, good customer service and patient- centred care are lacking in too many hospitals. Perhaps, only in very few private high-brow health institutions could a semblance of the basic requirement be found.

Yet there was a time in this country, when it took just a few minutes from point of first contact with the staff of a public hospital, for a patient to be attended to, and comfortably tucked in bed – even in the middle of the night.

In those days, just the physician’s welcoming smile, or the cossetting touch of the nurse or other reassuring overtures from all attending hospital staff, acted like a balm to soothe the patient’s pain and misery.

Those were times when values such as courtesy, consideration and care – widely regarded as the most desired marketing tools – were the norm.

Nowadays, it’s a completely different story. All that is left of that glorious past are faded memories. These days, patients queue up from the crack of dawn till dusk, waiting endlessly for attention that either comes too late for some or never at all for most. And God helps that patient who is bold enough to complain about the shoddy treatment. A severe tongue-lashing could be the least reprisal for such “impertinence”.

For inexplicable reasons, Nigerian hospitals, which are expected to be in the business of healing the sick and preservation of life, are no longer treating people (patients) with the level of consideration and decency they were once known for. Worse still, the symbol of hope that the average health care provider used to represent has practically vanished.

It is a dispiriting commentary that dwindling fortunes of the Nigerian healthcare community is widening the gap between the carer and the cared for. Too few hospitals are utilising the traditional marketing communications with any appreciable seriousness.

Yet, to succeed, health care reform, which is all about bringing radical changes to hospitals, is already putting pressure on the measurement of patient engagement, patient care and patient satisfaction along with hospital revenue drive.

But it remains unclear to what extent hospitals are persuading patients to lead healthier lifestyles? What really is the essence of the “5-star” rating conferrred on some tertiary health institutions? How many hospitals in these parts operate a realistically sustainable patient relationship management database?

This is the time for genuine engagement between health providers and their patients. Hospitals cannot afford to compromise the importance of being compassionate, courteous and caring.

Health care providers should begin to learn realise that, social media is all about patient engagement. They need to shift attention from mere marketing of services to sharing health information on issues and conditions that are relevant and of concern to the people.

Courtesy, consideration and care, are the most desired marketing tools today. What really motivates behaviour change boils down to engagement. Hospitals amd health care practices need to recognise that patient engagement is a reflection of the engagement level of the employees of the hospital with their employers.