Imo monarch accuses Nigerian hospital of causing son’s death

The traditional ruler of Amainyi community in Ihitte-Uboma Local Government Area of Imo State, South-east Nigeria, Emeka Ogbonna, has alleged that his child recently died at the National Hospital, Abuja, Nigeria’s Federal Capital Territory, due to negligence.

In a telephone interview with PREMIUM TIMES, Mr Ogbonna confirmed that his 27-year-old son, Obinna Emeka, who was recently knocked down by a vehicle, died in the hospital due to what he described as “incompetence and negligence by the doctors on duty.”

But the management of the hospital has denied the allegation, saying the deceased was brought into the facility seven hours after the accident. It added that the healthcare workers on duty did their best to address the situation.

‘How it happened’

Mr Ogbonna, in a statement that has since gone viral on social media, said his son- a registered pharmacist and writer, was hit by a vehicle on Saturday at about 7:00 p.m. in the Kubwa area of the city.

According to him, the deceased was immediately rushed to the Kubwa General Hospital “but there was no medical doctor on duty to attend to him.”

Mr Ogbonna said, after about three hours of waiting, “a doctor walked in and referred him to the National Hospital.”

He, however, said on getting to the National Hospital, the doctors insisted that his late son would not be attended to until they had his full body scan and x-ray.

“The body scan and x-rays machines in the National Hospital were not working and have not been working for close to two years,” he said.

“He was taken to a private hospital to obtain the full body scan and when my son, Obinna Emeka, was brought back, it took the hospital medical team close to two hours for documentation before he was taken in for medical attention.”

Mr Ogbonna said by the time his son was brought back from the private facility to the national hospital for treatment, his veins had already collapsed.

“The medical team, after watching my son stop breathing, came out and announced to his friends and people who brought him to the hospital that they were sorry, my son, the writer, my Prince, my pharmacist, who worked with me in our pharmacy till 31 March, could not make it,” he further narrated.

Painful experience

Lamenting the way his son died, he said: “I am in pain. I took my son to Owerri airport on 31 March, from where he flew to Abuja for a meeting and I flew to Abuja on 2 April to take his corpse back home from the National Hospital mortuary.”

He said his son was full of life until his unfortunate death.

“I have lost my son to incompetence and negligence,” he said.

Mr Ogbonna calls for immediate closure of the National Hospital “to avoid further deaths.”

Hospital denies allegations

The management of the National Hospital in a statement signed by its spokesperson, Tayo Haastrup, stated that late Emeka was brought to the hospital’s trauma centre seven hours after the accident.

Mr Haastrup said although the necessary investigations and procedures were carried out, unfortunately, the patient died.

The statement reads in part: “As a matter of fact, there was no incompetence or negligence in the treatment of the said patient.

“The National Hospital Abuja ensures that medical services are rendered promptly. Emergencies/Trauma cases are given priority. Our CT scan, MRI and UltraSound machines are always available for in-patients and emergencies.”

He noted that it is a policy for the hospital staff to attend to emergencies for 48 hours without emphasising on the monetary aspect.

While sympathising with the family of the monarch over the demise of their son, Mr Haastrup said that the hospital has competent medical personnel fully certified by professional bodies and that standard procedures were followed strictly.

He encouraged members of the public to present patients to the hospital on time for better management.

Not unusual

The allegation of negligence and poor facilities against the hospital is not new, as various individuals at different times had in the past accused the hospital of “abandoning patients to die rather than providing them care.”

In a report published by PREMIUM TIMES in 2019, Judy Akpala, mother of a Nigerian university undergraduate, said her son died at the hospital due to negligence.

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Various reports online also suggest that the hospital has continued to face allegations of nonchalance toward the care of patients.

About National Hospital

Established in 1999 originally to cater for the needs of women and children in Nigeria and the West African region, the National Hospital has since May 2000 expanded its scope of operations to accommodate male patients and cater for a large number of Nigerians, especially given its capacity and “sophisticated equipment which were rarely available elsewhere in the West African region.”