Mrs Ngozi Udebu, a Nigerian mother of four, lost her life in Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) on Friday, March 25th, 2016, which incidentally is Good Friday.
A devout Catholic, the late Mrs. Udebu started complaining of abdominal pains after her return from the church where she had gone to worship with her husband, Mr. Ausbet Udebu and their four daughters.
She was observing her monthly cycle which is usually managed with medications to reduce
the pain. Due to the severity of the pains, her husband rushed her to a private hospital. The couple was later referred to LUTH for further diagnosis and treatment.
On arrival at LUTH at about 9pm that day, this case which was clearly an emergency case as Mrs.
Udebu was seriously writhing in pains was treated with laxity. Mr. Udebu was asked if he was registered with the hospital, he answered in
the affirmative but could not remember his family's registration number. He was told he had to get a new one. While this extremely slow
procedure was being executed, his wife was left unattended to in her excruciatingly painful condition.
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| Late Mrs. Ngozi Udebu |
Mrs. Udebu went through some tests and a scan, and the results were ready before 7am the next morning. Mr. Udebu took the results to the doctors, but he was asked to wait until they were ready for the ward rounds. After about an hour, a doctor was finally available to check on her. He confirmed that she was stable except that the scan revealed some trace of ulcer. The doctor prescribed Gascol and an injection which were not readily available at LUTH!!!
Mr. Udebu quickly rushed to buy the prescription outside the hospital premises which he luckily got. This took about an hour. After administering the drug and injection, Mrs. Udebu had no visible relief. The doctor then prescribed another brand of injection called IV NEXIUM. Again, Mr. Udebu quickly rushed out to buy the injection. TALK OF A GOVERNMENT HOSPITAL WHERE THE PATIENTS ARE MADE TO PURCHASE EVERYTHING WHILE PRECIOUS TIME THAT WOULD HAVE SAVED
THE PATIENT'S LIFE IS BEING WASTED!!! The emergency unit where Mrs. Udebu was kept had NO POWER and POOR VENTILATION. Mr. Udebu had to use the flashlight of his phone to assist the doctor in finding his wife’s vein. He was physically using a handfan to give his wife air because she was sweating profusely and having difficulty breathing due to the stuffy condition, coupled with a malfunctioning window directly opposite her bed which could not be opened.
By Sunday, 27th March, Mrs. Udebu (a patient who had now developed breathing problems after spending 48hrs in a very hot emergency unit with little ventilation) was moved out of the emergency unit to the female ward because according to the doctor, patients are moved out of the emergency ward after 24hrs and she had spent 48hrs.
Since the beginning of this travail, Mr. Udebu never left his wife's side due to the fact that he perceived a certain lack of professionalism and necessary care on the part of the staff of LUTH.
When it was night, he was told that no patient’s relation would be allowed to stay in the ward. Mrs. Udebu's younger sister even volunteered to stay and help her out in case of any need. The nurses bluntly refused, saying it was against hospital policy. Mrs. Udebu definitely would have fared better with someone by her side to help out if something eventually went wrong. She obviously needed care and support but the nurses decided to stick to the hospital policy.
During this time, Mrs. Udebu's condition consistently deteriorated and she needed oxygen to stay alive. LUTH SAID THEY HAD NO OXYGEN MASK!!! Mr. Udebu did not have much choice but to rush out, yet again, to get one.
Mr. Udebu bought an oxygen mask and his wife was placed on oxygen. Her breathing became slightly improved. Mrs. Udebu, in her weak state pleaded with the nurses to permit her husband or her younger sister spend the night with her as she needed someone by her side but her plea was equally turned down. "Daddy, don’t go" was Mrs. Udebu’s mournful cry asking her husband to stay back. Mr. Udebu was asked to leave and was almost forced out of the ward.
Defeated and dejected, he reluctantly left with his sister in-law at about 11pm. At about 6am the next morning, Mr. Udebu returned to see his wife in company of his oldest daughter Christabelle, to offer her much-needed support and attention but to their deepest shock, the curtain over her bed was already drawn.
Mr. Udebu immediately suspected something eerie had happened. He instantly knew, but did not want to believe that his wife of fifteen years and mother to his four children was gone. Mrs. Ngozi Udebu died in the early hours of the morning. The pain of her loss cut even deeper because nobody contacted the family when she died. Her husband was rudely hit by the reality of his beloved wife’s death on arrival at the ward!
EVERYTHING ABOUT LUTH IS WRONG!!! A ward with more than 35 patients has only two nurses
available to attend to them. A patient gasping for breath and cannot be moved to intensive care unit.
Lack of BASIC drugs and most painful of all, OXYGEN MASK!!! IN A GOVERNMENT HOSPITAL?
THIS IS UNIMAGINABLE. Worse still, inaccessibility to a doctor when a patient’s case gets critical.
Throughout the three days Mrs. Udebu spent at LUTH, she could not empty her bowel.The doctors were informed but they did nothing about it. It was her husband who tried to induce it but he did not succeed. Are there no procedures and medications
the doctors could have administered to help her? A lack of ventilation (even in form of a fan) in the emergency ward! This must have complicated Mrs. Udebu’s breathing difficulty.The toilet area was completely submerged.The pool of water was more than 4inches high from the entrance to two toilets; no patient could use it for those two days. Mr. Udebu used putty as urine receptacle for his wife. It was a horrible sight to behold.
Gross negligence, neglect and nonchalance by members of staff of LUTH. The doctors concluded that her death was caused by ulcer even before an autopsy was carried out.After the release of the results, it was stated that she died of asphyxia to everyone's surprise. Asphyxia is the loss of consciousness due to the body's inability to deliver oxygen to its tissues. What is the relationship between Asphyxia and Ulcer which was the doctor's ‘diagnosis’? This is shameful, sad, disheartening, disappointing and above all disgraceful for Nigeria’s prime health
institution.
The nurse on duty when confronted that they may not have known when Mrs. Udebu passed on, said that she died at 3am. She claimed that they battled to save her life. In order to buttress her claim, she showed an oxygen gauge which she said they changed when they realized that it wasn’t functioning. Well, who knows if Mrs. Udebu was still alive when they realized that the oxygen gauge was malfunctioning? NEGLIGENCE OF STAFF!! A PATIENT LIKE MRS. UDEBU WHO WAS PLACED ON OXYGEN AND COULDN’T BREATHE? WASN’T THERE SUPPOSED TO BE SOMEONE WHO WOULD CONTINUOUSLY MONITOR A PATIENT IN SUCH CRITICAL CONDITION WHEN HER FAMILY WAS DENIED THE OPPORTUNITY TO SPEND THE NIGHT WITH HER??? HOW CAN LUTH BE USING ANTIQUATED OXYGEN EQUIPMENT IN THIS TIME AND AGE OF ELECTRONICS?
Mrs. Ngozi Udebu was a charming, vibrant woman who was so full of life. An epitome of humility, happiness, peace and grace. She was a God-fearing mother of four amazing daughters, a wife to Mr. Austin Udebu, a well-respected Teacher at St. Finbarr's College, Akoka, Yaba, Lagos and an amazing friend to many.
Certain mistakes could have been avoided but for the legendary negligent tradition of LUTH. Out of
the many people who have heard this story, not one person has had anything good to say about
LUTH because they have had personal experiences with them as well. The recurring verdict is that LUTH does not value any human
life at all. Life is short, Life is cruel, and Life can be Just.
Story culled from : SDK blog
http://www.stelladimokokorkus.com/2016/04/luth-accused-of-negligence-resulting-in.html
Story narrated by: Quincy Roberts
