Alleged Negligence: 8 Staff of Federal Medical Centre Abuja Face Panel

OnyebuchiEzigbo in Abuja

The management of the Federal Medical Centre, Jabi-Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory has said that eight of its staff are presenting facing investigation over alleged poor treatment meted out to an accident victim.

It assured that the outcome of the investigation will be made public as soon as it is concluded.

An online video which went viral over the weekend showed a man who said he acted as a good Samaritan to assist in ferrying an accident victim to FMC Abuja for emergency treatment but was left unattended to for hours by the hospital staff.

In the viral video, the man was heard exchanging words with the nurses on duty who said they cannot evacuate the wounded patient from the vehicle due to lack hand gloves and other needed equipment.

However, the management of FMC Abuja in a statement on Sunday said that it has carried out preliminary findings on what happened.

It also said that the Minister of State has directed a full investigation of the incident which is ongoing.

The statement signed by the Public Relations Officer, Obadiah Gana on behalf of the Medical Director, of FMC Abuja said the hospital’s emergency department had adequate supply of medical consumables, including latex gloves, contrary to the claims made in the video.

While giving an update on the incident on Monday, the Head of the Clinical Services Department, Dr. KirboMuftau said the hospital has placed eight of its staff under investigation to ascertain their culpability.

When asked the number of staff being investigated for negligence, Muftau said: “ All the staff that were there on the day the accident victim was brought in to the emergency room, about eight of the them, doctors, nurses and attendants will face the investigation pane”

On the health situation of the accident victim, the doctor said that the patient was treated and discharged on the day of the incident.

In terms of monitoring performance of staff, Muftau said the hospital emergency section has a dedicated phone line where enquires and complains can be channeled for immediate response.

According to him, anytime the Emergency Unit is overwhelmed in terms of numbers of patients, the hospital usually has contingency measures to cater for the situation.

For instance, Muftau said that during the last petrol tanker explosion that occurred in Niger State, the FMC Abuja swung into action and went there with ambulance vehicles to rescue the victims.

Regarding the concerns over the attitude of its staff, he said the hospital is very sensitive to patients’ care and places high premium on service delivery.

Muftau said: “For a hospital that wants to become world-class, we must be open to improvement. Although the hospital is maintaining high standards, there is room for improvement.”

Muftau also said that the hospital management is carrying out expansion work on the emergency unit to create more bed spaces and recruit more health workers to help attend to growing number of patients seeking healthcare in the facility.