Elevator death sparks outrage as doctors demand justice, hospital safety

The death of Diasco Vwaere, a junior doctor who was practising housemanship at the General Hospital, Odan, Lagos Island, has sparked public outrage.

Doctors are demanding justice for the needless death of their colleague, who was killed after the elevator she was riding in malfunctioned and fell 10 floors.

The anger over the tragic accident is further fuelled by the hospital’s history of safety problems, a condition which doctors have long complained about and even given premonitions that it could cost a life if swift action was not taken.

In fact, just last month, a group of doctors wrote to the hospital administration, warning them that the elevators were a safety hazard.

Also, the Medical Guild via a tweet in 2020 had called the attention of Akin Abayomi, Lagos Commissioner for Health, Ibijoke Sanwo-Olu, the first lady of Lagos State who is also public health expert and former chief medical director of Harvey Road Comprehensive Health Centre in Yaba and the Nigerian Medical Association to the issue.

“The doctors’ quarters at the General Hospital Lagos has 10 floors. It has a non-functional elevator and no running water. Doctors who live on the 10th floor including pregnant women climb the stairs multiple times daily,” the tweet reads.

“The hospital’s failure to address these safety concerns has now cost a doctor her life.”

Vwaere was just two weeks away from completing her housemanship when she died. She graduated from Babcock University barely a year ago.

According to Nlfpmod, a Nairaland online forum user who seems familiar with the incident, “All she wanted to do was get her food from a dispatcher downstairs. It even took them an hour to get her out of the elevator. She was still conscious even with fractures. She was taken to emergency and then another delay, no blood. This country failed her”.

Her death marks another loss to the medical community and another blow to Nigeria’s depleting medical workforce.

Last week, Kay Adesola, national president of the Association of Nigerian Private and Medical Practitioners (ANPMP) and a veteran medical doctor told BusinessDay that the rate of death among medical workers, especially doctors has become historically high in the last couple of months due to the high burnout rate.

The doctors are demanding that the hospital administration be held accountable for Vwaere’s death. They are also calling for an independent investigation into the accident, which they say should never have happened.

In a statement signed by Benjamin Olowojebutu, NMA chairman Ismail Ajibowo, secretary, the association expressed disappointment that there was no blood available for resuscitation and that it has become a recurring issue as a result of the review made by the government on the previous policy on blood donation.

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“To us, this was an avoidable death and it’s unfortunate that it was allowed to happen. We are pained and we are mourning. We are well aware that this same elevator has been a source of problem for many years during which several complaints have been made to all relevant agencies with no respite,” the statement reads.

“It is very painful that at a time when the country is battling with unprecedented brain drain, a young colleague that would have been expected to attend to 6000 Nigerians was allowed to die a needless death.”

Demands

The association has declared a five-day statewide mourning period and is demanding: an immediate, unbiased investigation into the circumstances surrounding this unfortunate incident; and that all those found culpable in this matter, especially the General Manager of the Lagos State Infrastructure Management Agency, Ms Adenike Adekambi, are all brought to Justice.

It has also directed all our doctors in the three government hospitals on the island (GH Lagos, LIMH, and MSCH) to commence indefinite strike action until the investigations are completed and justice served;

“We immediately direct our doctors in all the other government hospitals to scale down activities as a mark of respect for our dead colleague. Only emergency services should be rendered for the next 5 days. The government should as a matter of urgency commence the complete overhaul of the house officers’ quarters on the island. All other infrastructures in all our government hospitals that need repairs should be urgently attended to. The blood transfusion system in Lagos State needs immediate revamping for improved services.”

The public relations unit of the Lagos Ministry of Health did not have an official response ready when Businessday contacted it.