Fire accident victim dies for lack of medical care

ayodele johnson

June 22, 2016 10:51 PM

The deceased died due to neglect and lack of attention from the medical personnel at the hospital, who had gone on strike.

University of Benin Teaching Hospital

The nationwide strike by resident doctors has led to the death of a fire accident victim, Mrs. Margaret Edobor, who was admitted at the University of Benin Teaching Hospital.

According to Punch, Edobor was admitted at the hospital in April 2016, but was unable to receive medical attention due to the strike which began on Monday, June 20, 2016.

She reportedly got an infection since there was no medical personnel to treat her wounds. She died on Tuesday, June 21, 2016.

Her elder brother, Mr. Sunday Ogbewe, gave an account of what led to her death.

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He said, “She had a fire accident and she was admitted here (UBTH). When the strike started, there was no doctor; so, she contracted an infection.

“It’s very painful. I have been crying. She is gone. When it happened, I even called some doctors to attend to her. But they said no. They (doctors) should have human feeling.”

Dr. Owen Omorogbe, who is the president of the Association of Resident Doctors, UBTH chapter however regretted the situation.

He explained that the strike was a difficult decision, meant to address the issue of delayed salaries of doctors.

Omorogbe said, “Most of the works in this hospital (UBTH) and in most teaching hospitals are done by resident doctors. So, when we withdraw our services, we expect that it will have a toll on the populace.”

“It is a painful decision that was informed by several means of dialogue and advocacy. We are well aware of the pain it has brought to the people of Edo State.”

“We appeal to them to understand that what we are trying to do is to seek a definite solution to all these perennial problems.”

The problem of doctors going on strike has been more of an annual occurrence in the country. Many Nigerians have unfortunately paid the price for what has now become a trend.

ayodele johnson