Attacks on LUTH

Recently, the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Idi-Araba, temporarily closed down its Accident and Emergency Unit to protest the increasing attacks on hospital workers by hoodlums. The February 15, 2008 attack which led to the closure was said to have been caused by the death of a patient who was hit by a vehicle, in the hospital.

The hoodlums were reportedly hired by relations of the deceased to retaliate an alleged negligence by workers of the affected unit, which was believed to have led to the death of the accident victim.

As a result of the closure, accident victims and those seeking emergency treatment at the hospital were turned back as health workers in the unit stayed off duty until their safety could be guaranteed.
The Chief Medical Director (CMD) of the hospital, Professor Akin Osibogun, defended the action by saying that the workers justifiably refused to attend to patients in the affected unit for the period the order lasted to avoid a repeat of the incident which led to the death of a senior nursing officer, Mrs. Rachael Akinpetide, who was killed by hoodlums in the hospital in 2001.

Akinpetide’s death in the course of duty was perhaps the most tragic incident in the history of the hospital since its inception in 1962. The late Akinpetide died on Wednesday, August 1, 2001, a week to her 50th birthday as a result of an attack by hoodlums who reportedly invaded the hospital’s Accident and Emergency Unit. The hoodlums vandalized medical equipment and attacked medical staff, including nurses.

These are unfotunate developments. Attacking hospital workers over allegations of negligence is not the best response to such a situation. The matter is even made worse by the use of hoodlums who are psychologically prone to violence and destruction.

It is a known fact that hospital workers are there to care for the sick and save lives that ordinarily might have been lost if there were no medical intervention. The health workers do not take the lives of their patients. But in the course of duty, accidents or mistakes might occur and lead to loss of life.


Under such circumstances, the relatives of the victims should not resort to violence. There are in-built channels of redress available to the public. Victims of shoddy medical treatment or their relations can seek redress with the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN) which is eminently and professionally qualified to handle such alleged cases of professional misconduct and discipline the erring medical personnel.

Under no circumstance should hospital patients, their relations or hired hoodlums take the law into their hands or resort to jungle justice. Those who are not satisfied with the outcome of the council’s decision have the right to sue the medical personnel involved in the regular courts to seek for justice.
The recent attack on LUTH workers portrays the country in bad light. It is indeed a mark of under-development that health-care givers in 21st century Nigeria are being attacked in the course of duty over mere allegation of negligence. It is even more pathetic when the killed health worker is not linked with the negligence, if at all there was any, as happened in LUTH some years back.

We deplore this development and call on the authorities of LUTH to investigate this matter with a view to bringing to book those behind the barbaric and dastardly act.

LUTH should find out if there was indeed any case of negligence and if the death of the patient was really as a result of negligence.
Even if negligence is proven, it is still not enough to take another life because two wrongs do not make a right. But that is not to say that we condone negligence in any way.

Negligence on the part of the health worker or even the patient or his relations can cause irreparable damage to the health of a patient. It is regrettable that such damages are, at times, irreversible.
The management of LUTH should do something if the death of the victim was actually caused by negligence on the part of its workers.

We suggest also that hospital staff be re-orientated to change their attitude to work. The attitude of some health workers, these days, is unpleasant and nauseating to patients. There is the need to re-train hospital staff to keep abreast of new care-giving techniques that are patient-friendly. Hospitals should be a place where patients are treated with utmost care, respect and compassion. We suggest that LUTH should consider seriously the issue of security to avert future occurrence of these ugly incidents.