The management of the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, Ikeja (LASUTH), has disclosed that over four people had died, out of about 200 of its health workers that were infected with COVID-19.
The tertiary hospital stated that among the people that were killed by the pandemic were two consultants and a senior matron. It, however, did not state the category of the fourth worker who also died of the disease.
The hospital made this known in a series of tweets while replying a chartered accountant, Kunle Enitan’s tweet about how his critically-ill mother was initially refused admission by LASUTH, until the Lagos State Commissioner of Health, Prof. Akin Abayomi, intervened.
Enitan had narrated how his ailing mother was made to wait for four hours at LASUTH, with no doctor or nurse to attend to her.
According to the tax expert and political analyst, in a tweet via his Twitter handle @kunleenitan, his mother was on Sunday referred to the tertiary hospital on oxygen, from Unita Hospital in Ikotun, a Lagos suburb, as an emergency case.
He had tweeted, “My mother was referred to @LASUTH from Unita Hospital, Ikotun, Lagos, as emergency after stabilising her with oxygen. Its been 4 hours & she’s still left in the car at the medical emergency entrance with no doctor or nurse attending to her @LASUTH Ikeja.”
His tweet caught the attention of the Lagos State Commissioner of Health, Prof Akin Abayomi, who tweeted back, saying: “Sorry for the delay in attending to your mother. I have sent you an important message, check your DM now.”
Enitan later tweeted back: “Dear all, I really appreciate your prayers, comment and concerns. The honorable commissioner of health Prof. Akin Abayomi, has intervened. My mother has also been taken in. God bless you all.”
In responding to Enitan’s tweet, LASUTH, via its Twitter handle @LASUTHikeja, stated in a series of tweets the reasons it could not admit the elderly patient.
LASUTH further explained that it refused Enitan’s mother an admission, despite the critical nature of her illness because some patients are potential COVID-19 infected carrier until test proves otherwise.
“There is a covid pandemic. Suspected covid cases have to be carefully handled so as to reduce the chances of our health workers getting infected,” LASUTH said.
It stated that despite the tertiary hospital’s caution, almost 200 of its staff still got infected, resulting in four fatalities that included a senior matron and two consultants.
LASUTH said, “Even with such caution applied, almost 200 LASUTH health workers had been infected with the covid virus so far. There had been four fatalities, including two consultants and a senior matron.”
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