LASUTH has responded after actor Ebisan took to Instagram to accuse them of negligence.
The actor recorded a video within LASUTH and said his aunt was gradually dying because she needed oxygen urgently but “one doctor said they did not have space for oxygen tank in an emergency ward.”
He added that when he called them out for it, the doctors swore not to treat his aunt and they asked him to take her away
LASUTH has since denied the allegations made by Ebisan and gave their own account of the event.
In a statement shared on its website, LASUTH repreesntatives said ” LASUTH has a 2-week supply of oxygen and is in touch with no less than 6 suppliers of oxygen for immediate emergency supply, if necessary.”
They added that Ebisan’s aunt was brought to the hospital at 1:10 am on Monday, March 16, 2020, and she was attended to by the triage nurse after which she was then seen by the doctor on duty.
The aunt, aged 55, was then taken to the Diagnostics Centre within LASUTH for a CT scan and was later brought back to Medical Emergency.
At this point, she needed oxygen and the LASUTH spokesperson said that “though the sixteen (16) oxygen ports in the emergency unit were all used up at that time, the nurses quickly swung into action to provide an emergency oxygen outlet for the patient.”
They added that the patient became violent at this point and began abusing health workers verbally and physically.
They said they were surprised at his claims of no oxygen in the hospital and they added that there’s no truth to it.
Read the full statement below.
RE- NO OXYGEN IN MEDICAL EMERGENCY UNIT OF LASUTH
Our attention has been drawn to a video trending online which seem to suggest that LASUTH has shortage of oxygen in its Emergency Unit.
We wish to state clearly that as we write, LASUTH has a 2-week supply of Oxygen and is in touch with no less than six (6) suppliers of oxygen for immediate emergency supply, if necessary.
However, we consider it necessary to state the elements involved in the case at hand, if only to expose the mischievous intention of the trending video.
Lawani Anna, a 55-year-old woman was brought into the Medical Emergency of Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) at 1:10 am on Monday, 16th of March, 2020.
She was attended to by the triage nurse and was later seen by the doctor on duty who recommended an urgent brain CT scan on the suspicion of diagnosis of cerebrovascular accident.
The patient was then taken to the BT Diagnostics Centre (within LASUTH) for the scan around 1:28 am by her relatives and later brought back to Medical Emergency around 2:08 am. The nurse on duty quickly took the oxygen concentration of the patient and it was 88 percent on room air.
Though the sixteen (16) oxygen ports in the emergency unit were all used up at that time, the nurses quickly swung into action to provide an emergency oxygen outlet for the patient.
During this process, one of the patient’s relatives became violent; he attacked the nurses and doctors verbally, which eventually resulted in physically assault. He beat up the health attendant on duty and threatened to beat up more of our medical personnel.
We are surprised at his claim of no oxygen in the hospital. As stated above, lack of oxygen is NEVER an issue in LASUTH.
Despite the aggressive and bad attitude put up by this male relative during the crisis, the patient was still brought down from the car, resuscitated and stabilized on a trolley.
The patient was later referred to Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) after being stabilized, on the account of non-availability of bed space. She left the medical emergency of LASUTH at 3:24am in company of her relatives.
Finally, we would like to state that the attitude exhibited by the patient’s relative was unacceptable. His assault and harassment of our personnel is demeaning and embarrassing and his claims are not only unfounded but also untrue and misleading to the general public.
We hereby, implore members of the public to kindly ignore the video post on Instagram and other social media platforms. We will continue to discharge our duties with a deep sense of responsibility and empathy.
