Hospital denies rationing fuel, says deceased’s case critical
The management of the Ondo State Trauma and Surgical Centre, Ondo Town, has denied allegations of negligence that led to the death of a patient, Fola Samuel.
PUNCH Metro reported Sunday that Samuel, a middle-aged man who accused the hospital of the death of his wife, had been diagnosed with breast cancer.
The mother of four was taken to the theatre on Monday, July 25, for surgery.
According to Sunday’s report, the power outage caused the disruption of the operation, with the medical facility switching between the generator and power supply repeatedly.
He was also disappointed that the hospital did not provide an emergency oxygen cylinder prior to the operation.
In a statement, Dr. Oluwole, the Chief Medical Director at the hospital, stated that the deceased was a diabetic with stage 4 breast cancer.
He noted that the surgery conducted by the hospital was successful.
Ige said, “She was a high-risk surgical patient, and palliative surgery to remove the huge mass of abnormal tissue growing in her breast was planned. She was quite unwell and had to be made fit to undergo surgery. The patient could barely walk upon admission and with very limited clinical reserve. Efforts at making her strong enough to withstand the stress of surgery warranted the three weeks of admission before surgery. The surgery was successful but the patient, unfortunately, could not withstand the stress.”
He also noted that the hospital did not alternate between power supply and generator while the operation lasted.
“It was true that there was a power outage during the surgery, but the backup power supply was immediately restored. The hospital is equipped with multiple generators (diesel and petrol) being used as a backup. The issue of alternating between power supplies was not the cause of her death. The allegation about non-availability of oxygen during the surgery is false,” he added.
However, a family source told PUNCH Metro that the hospital’s reaction was merely damaged control.
The source said, “There is nothing to gain in making false claims against them. Fola is no more and she has been buried; so that won’t bring her back to life. But that is the reality on the ground in the hospital. I hope this will make them do the needful to avoid another casualty.”
