- An 18-year-old, Raphael Olorunlogbon, passed away in FMC Kogi, after being referred there for an appendicitis operation
- The deceased’s family blames doctors for the death; alleging that they were ‘playing on their phones’ instead of carrying out the critical operation
- When contacted, the hospital directed any patient or patient’s relation who was not satisfied with its services, to report to SERVICOM
Doctors at the Federal Medical Centre, Lokoja, Kogi state have been blamed for the death of an 18-year-old boy, Raphael Olorunlogbon, by the deceased’s family.
Following a diagnosis of appendicitis by a hospital in Maigumeri Barracks, Raphael had been referred to the FMC, Punch reports.
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NAIJ.com gathers that his brother, Isaiah Dele disclosed that Raphael was brought to the FMC on Monday, June 18; but that in spite of his critical condition, he was not attended to, until Tuesday, June 19.
He stated: “On Monday, Raphael complained of stomach pain and he was taken to a hospital in Maigumeri Barracks, Lokoja. The resident doctor asked us to carry out a scan.
“The result showed that he had perforated appendix and an operation was necessary, so he was referred to the FMC.
“When we got there, we were told that there was no space in the ward. After much begging, they managed to give us a small mattress to put outside the ward. He was not attended to.”
Dele stated that if he had been attended to on time, his brother, who had just completed his West Africa Senior School Certificate Examination, would have survived.
He alleged that instead of performing the critical operation, the doctors were playing on their phones.
He said: “It was just negligence on the part of the doctors. If they had done the operation on Monday, probably, he would not have died.
“He was not attended to that day, they kept pressing his stomach. He was in pain throughout the night and was speaking incoherently.
“On Tuesday, we were told that the operation would be carried out by 10am, but it was not done until 5pm.”
Dele disclosed that his brother was left in a coma, following the operation, which lasted for three hours. The deceased passed away on Wednesday, June 20.
When contacted, the hospital’s public relations officer, Abdulai Abdulrahman, reportedly stated that he could not speak on phone.
He is quoted to have said: “I don’t know you. You cannot just call on the telephone and expect me to start talking to you. I am a professional journalist and the hospital’s PRO; so, if you want to do investigative journalism, come to our office and we will look at the records.
“Besides, on issues of professional negligence, SERVICOM handles that. If any patient or patient’s relation is not satisfied with our services, they should report to SERVICOM.”
However, the PRO reportedly sent a text message afterwards, stating: “Please we are going to check our records tomorrow morning (Monday, June 25) and get back to you before 10am.”
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Meanwhile, NAIJ.com previously reported that a certain Usman Aliu, a graduate of the University of Abuja, who was undergoing the mandatory National Youth Service, died in a hospital after a brief illness.
His friends who were still in shock after receiving word about his demise, shared on their Facebook pages, how grievous the sudden death was for them.
A friend of the deceased identified as Yusuf Saheed Adeniyi, lamented that after all the stress Usman went through in the university, he had to depart without fulfilling his plans.
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Source: Naija.ng