Nigerians have accused the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) of negligence and mismanagement, following the death of a 34-year-old PWC employee at the facility.
LASUTH had, in a statement on Thursday, denied responsibility for the death, claiming that the patient died due to poor medical attention by the hospital he was referred from.
LASUTH management explained that the patient died despite the efforts of its doctors after he was brought to the facility in critical condition following a severe domestic accident that caused substantial blood loss.
“The management of the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) is deeply saddened by the death of the 34-year-old patient whose case has been the subject of recent social media discussions. Our thoughts are with his family and loved ones,” LASUTH said.
Nigerians, however, took to Facebook to express their dissatisfaction and disappointment at the facility’s failure to sustain the life of the patient.
“It is well, but news about LASUTH has never been encouraging. I had a first-hand experience,” said a Facebook user, Alade Quadri.
Another Facebook user, Olawole Olawore, said, “Do we have hospitals? Just pray not to be sick.”
“Are you sure you give immediate emergency service at LASUTH? With what materials? Will doctors and nurses use their money to treat a patient at the point of emergency?” Phatai Ademola said.
“LASUTH won’t start a treatment if the patient’s representative who will buy the needed materials has not arrived. Kindly erase this deceitful write-up and tell people how you operate. Though not LASUTH alone, all hospitals controlled by Lagos State are operating the same,” he added.
Another Facebook user, Zaheedah Sanusi, said, “Honestly, LASUTH is not trying, ask me, I have a story to tell.”
Rejecting the allegations of negligence or mismanagement, the medical facility explained that the patient was referred from another hospital and arrived at LASUTH in critical condition following a severe domestic accident with significant blood loss.
It said, “He received immediate emergency care from a multidisciplinary team, including blood resuscitation efforts and a complex vascular surgical procedure. The comprehensive summary of care received in LASUTH within the less than 6 hours spent in our facility before his demise is available.
“However, details of his clinical condition is definitely not for social media posts. It is on record that despite the best efforts of our medical and surgical teams and all available interventions, he unfortunately succumbed to the severity of his injuries within the short time spent in LASUTH after presentation.”