FCTA begins investigation on alleged rejection of accident victim, vows to punish culprit

Dr Mohammed Kawu, the Acting Secretary, FCTA Health and Human Services Secretariat, told newsmen at the Maitama District Hospital, on Wednesday in Abuja.

A short video produced in Hausa language, went viral on social media two days ago alleging that an accident victim was brought to the emergency unit of the hospital but was rejected.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the acting secretary visited the hospital to see the accident victim in question, identified as Mr George Imohimi, age 45, a resident of Mpape and hails from Edo.

Kawu said that the objective of the investigation was to ensure that no staff jeopardised the efforts of the FCT administration toward achieving effective health services delivery.

He vowed that any staff found to have exhibited any form of negligence over the matter would be sanctioned in accordance with Civil Service Rules.

Kawu reiterated the commitment of the FCT administration toward efficient healthcare service, adding that all public hospitals in the territory were bound to accept and treat accident victims before any other protocols.

“The FCT Minister, Malam Muhammad Bello has directed me to personally visit the accident victim and observe the situation to ensure that it is brought under control.

“Investigation is ongoing, we have seen the video and we are investigating further.

“The administration wants to assure all Nigerians, particularly FCT residents that all public facilities are for the public, every person has the right to go to any of these hospitals and must be attended to.

“This has been the policy and will continue to be so. The policy is that you take in an accident victim and treat them before you look for police.

“We will let the public know what the issue is all about after the investigation.

“But now the patient is getting adequate attention. Any public servant that is found to have erred will be dealt with according to civil service rules,’’ Kawu said.

Earlier, the Medical Director of the Hospital, Dr Imuentinyan Igbinovia, said that the victim was actually taken into the emergency unit for proper attention as against the message conveyed by the viral video.

He, however, noted that the lady who brought the accident victim expressed discontent over the delay in admitting the victim but after explaining the situation to her, the disagreement with the emergency unit staff was resolved.

He said that in spite of the influx of patients into the hospital on a daily basis, the hospital management had remained committed to excellent healthcare services to all residents.

The MD also confirmed that the patient in question was receiving the best medical treatment obtainable in the hospital and had been recuperating well.

“The incident happened on Monday at about 8p.m., an hour prior to this time, some accident victims were rushed in and staff were seeing them and I joined them.

“About 30 minutes later, another accident victim was rushed in and the staff also went to attend to the second set of victims.

“Unfortunately, there was an altercation between those that rushed the victims and the accident emergency staff, I was able to calm down the situation and also spoke to the lady who brought in the accident victim.

“Immediately after that a stretcher was brought and the victim was taken into the emergency unit. After the victim was admitted and stabilised, I spoke with the Police Divisional Officer who was also around.

“The lady who brought in the victim thought that our responses would have been faster; I explained the situation to her.

“To the best of our knowledge, the matter has been settled. The victim is in the ward now receiving treatment and is getting better.

“To our surprise, we saw the social media messages which we have taken in good faith,” he said.

Igbinovia assured the public that Maitama hospital was poised to take care of patients, adding that a large crowd of people access medical care in the facility.