Late Dr. Umoh did not work for 72 hours non-stop –LUTH

Management of the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) has debunked a viral news that Dr. Michael Umoh who died on Sunday was overworked and died after 72 hours non-stop shift.

The reaction follows another by the Association of Resident Doctors at the hospital, who also debunked the story and expressed concern about the extent of misinformation being disseminated in the social media.

“LUTH management understands the fact that the family of Dr. Umoh is presently mourning the death of their beloved son and requested the foreclosure of any media engagement regarding the death of their son.

“It is important for us as a management to make clarifications regarding the circumstances surrounding his death. Dr Umoh died on Sept 17 while in church with his parents. The management was informed, and the death was later confirmed by one of the Consultants in his unit (Neurosurgery).

“The death of Dr Umoh is unfortunate but the narrative of a 72 hours non-stop shift is false. The record from the Neurosurgery unit shows that the last time he was on call was 13th and 14th September, 2023.

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“He was not on call on the 15th, 16th and 17th (the day he died), contrary to the insinuations on social media. He was at home with his parents on Sept. 16 and Sept. 17,” the management said.

Prior to this time, the management said he was on call on Sept. 7 and Sept. 8.

”This shows that Dr Umoh was on call for a total number of four days in September, 2023. A delegation from LUTH visited the family on Wednesday to commiserate with the family and to get more details of the circumstances surrounding his death.

“The parents gave the details of what they thought must have contributed to his death but pleaded that the wish of the family be respected and that the narrative is not for public consumption,” it said.

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The management described Dr. Umoh as a hardworking and diligent house-officer, and a very promising young man.

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The Association of Resident Doctors in Wednesday’s statement suggested that the late doctor may have died as a result of sudden cardiac arrest.

In a press statement jointly signed by the president of the LUTH-ARD, Dr Kemi Abiloye, and General Secretary, Dr Adedotun Adesiyakan, they narrated the chain of events that led to Umoh’s death and also disclosed that the deceased was confirmed dead at Reddington Hospital.

“The passing of our younger colleague is really sad and words are not enough to describe the sense of loss that we feel collectively. It has been a turbulent period and we are just beginning to put together the pieces of this sad event.

“The report of our early findings has revealed the following; Dr Michael Umoh was a medical house officer that had only about a month left, to the completion of his housemanship in LUTH. His current posting was in the neurosurgery unit, along with 2 other colleagues at that particular time.

“Their work schedule includes a 48-hour call interspersed with 4 days, which they are not scheduled to be on call. This was an internal arrangement amongst them to allow for a longer period of recoil.

“At about 11 am on Sunday morning, after his calls on Thursday and Friday, he just concluded a service at United Evangelical Baptist church when he slumped.