Family threatens to sue DELSUTH over death of loved one

The family of one Christian Afenemo Oghoghomeh, who recently died at the Delta State University Teaching Hospital, Oghara, have called for investigation into his death, threatening to sue the institution.

Oghoghomeh was said to have died at the hospital in the early hours of Monday 25th March, 2019 shortly after he was rushed there following severe injuries he had sustained arising from a domestic accident at his residence.

According to the family the authorities of DELSUTH had referred him for a CT scan at West End Hospital in Warri because according to them, their own machine had broken down.

Lamenting further, a cousin of the diseased, Jesutega Onokpasa, a lawyer and public affairs commentator, claimed that “I have been on admission in that hospital before but it would appear that things have completely fallen apart over there.

READ ALSO: Obi laments Kano re-run poll, says thuggery, rigging may consume Nigeria

“Our brothers who rushed him there were first told that the hospital had no functioning ambulance.

“Then it turned out they didn’t want Christian taken to West End in Warri but rather to UBTH in Benin.

“Then someone said that there was an ambulance somewhere in the premises but the ambulance driver had not shown up for work that day. “Can you imagine that?

“It was a macabre comedy of errors except that it was taking place in a hospital of all places, indeed a teaching hospital for that matter, with a man’s life at stake.

“At the end of the day, our relations managed to secure their own ambulance only for the hospital to refuse to give them the oxygen tank without which they were fully aware he could not survive the journey.

“According to them, they could not release their oxygen tank because it was not their ambulance that was going to be used to convey him to UBTH.

“I mean, are these normal people at all? “In the midst of this insane melodrama, their patient needlessly gave up the ghost right there before their eyes only for them to start consoling the family.

“The most tragic part is about the children Christian has left behind. “Approximately ten years ago, while they were still quite young, they lost their mother.

“With, their father having now joined her in circumstances that can only be described as truly atrocious, all they have is their stepmom to cater for them all on her own.”

While mourning their loss, the family vowed to take legal action against the hospital as it called on all relevant regulatory bodies and authorities to investigate the death of the diseased and probe the hospital over what it described as “an alarmingly high turnover of deaths in what is supposed to be a hospital for the training of future doctors.”

Join the conversation

Opinions

Support Ripples Nigeria, hold up solutions journalism

Balanced, fearless journalism driven by data comes at huge financial costs.

As a media platform, we hold leadership accountable and will not trade the right to press freedom and free speech for a piece of cake.

If you like what we do, and are ready to uphold solutions journalism, kindly donate to the Ripples Nigeria cause.

Your support would help to ensure that citizens and institutions continue to have free access to credible and reliable information for societal development.

Donate Now