UNIMEDTH MANAGEMENT CONDEMNS ATTACK ON STAFF

By Dupson Collins, 30th November, 2022
The Management of the University of Medical Sciences Teaching Hospital, (UNIMEDTH) has condemned the recent attack on members of staff of the hospital by relative of a patient.
PATH learnt that the relative of a patient, Ewagwu Augustine, 51 years who died in the course of referral to another hospital at the Accident and Emergency Department on Tuesday 29, November, 2022 assaulted Nurses, Cashier and Ambulance driver on duty, thereby disrupted activities within the department.
Speaking, the Secretary of the hospital, Mr Luyi Abiodun representing the Director of Administration said it has become a recurrent incident in the hospital for relative of patients to beat up health workers, saying the hospital management can’t fold their hands and allow any unguided miscreant to kill its staff.
His words: ” its’ speaks ill of any relative of patient to attack staff attending to patients. The death of the man in question is not our staff negligent but negligent on the part of the deceased family who failed to listen to doctor advise.
He noted that the incident created apprehension among the patients in the ward who are receiving treatment, adding that it’s barbaric act that must be condemned in totality.
Mr Luyi stated further that, it took the intervention of Amotekun operative and ‘A’ Division DPO before normalcy could be restored back to the hospital.
He said despite the internal security arrangement on ground, the relative were bold enough to descend on the staff, while pleading with the State Government to station Amotekun Post in the hospital to prevent future occurrence.
“It is wrong for relative of the patients to attack Health Workers taking care of the patients; whatever the situation, it is more logical to stay calm and allow the hospital to take decisions rather than attacking the hospital’s staff”,he noted.
He warned that the hospital would not tolerate any form of attack or harassment of its staff in the course of discharging their official duties.
The Head of Department of Nurses at the Accident and Emergency Department of the hospital, Nurse Aladetohun Mary said the government and the Management need to be proactive against future occurrence, saying the safety of Nurses and other health workers are very paramount.
” While the relative were assaulting our staff, Nurses and patients on bed were scaping for safety, in the course, one of our doctors fell down trying to escape from the rampaging family, but we thank God for his safety”.
Giving an eyewitness account, Nurse Baale Emmanuel who was on duty on that fateful day said the patient wouldn’t have died if the family took to the instructions of the medical officer who pleaded with the family to put the man on admission three days before the incident that led to his death.
” When the man was brought to the hospital three days ago, the family did not only declined the patient from being admitted but also declined him being injected after he was later brought back to the hospital when his health has deteriorated which led to his referral to another hospital”.
Nurse Baale stated further that, while the relative were asked to offset the bills incurred and ambulance fee before referral, in the process of assaulting the staff instead of doing the needful, the patient died which led to further attack of staff.
He frowned at the unprofessional conduct of the police drafted to the hospital who ought to have safe the situation but would rather take sides with the family of the dead patient.
In the same vein, the Chief Security Officer of the hospital, Col Rotimi Alade (RTD) appealed to the relative of patients to desist from the act of attacking Doctors, Nurses and other health workers, saying sanity could only be restored when erring people are tried and jailed to serve as deterrent to others.
He charged the hospital management to pursuit to a logical conclusion any case of suspected attackers and ensure prosecution, adding that out of Court or Police Station settlement will only encourage more of the assault on the hospital Staff.