Premier Specialists Medical Centre, Lagos has pleaded with the public to allow relevant authorities conduct thorough investigation into the cause of death of a popular chef, Peju Ugboma.
The management of the hospital made the plea in a statement by Dr. Chineze Fadipe, a Consultant Paediatrician with the hospital, on Tuesday in Lagos.
Fadipe, in the statement, appealed to the public against exacerbating the grief of the deceased patient’s family with “unfounded rumours and unsubstantiated facts”.
The News Agency of Nigeria recalls that Ugboma’s family had alleged that their daughter died due to negligence of health officials at the Premier Specialist Medical Centre in Victoria Island, where she had surgery for fibroid.
The deceased’s family had also claimed that an independent autopsy done by pathologists at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, Ikeja, Lagos revealed that Peju suffered internal bleeding.
The issue, however, led to outcry against the hospital on various social media platforms, with many people alleging medical negligence.
NAN further recalled that this prompted the Lagos State Commissioner for Health, Prof. Akin Abayomi, to order an investigation into the circumstances that led to the death of the late chef.
Abayomi directed the state Health Facility Monitoring and Accreditation Agency to investigate the hospital and “establish the facts” on what led to Ugboma’s death.
Fadipe said the management of the centre was saddened by the death of Ugboma, and expressed its condolences to the deceased’s family.
She said: “The hospital welcomes all statutory inquiries, and is currently fully cooperating with the relevant regulatory bodies as it is the protocol in cases of this nature.
“It intends to keep doing so until a conclusion is reached.”
Fadipe said that ethics of the medical profession does not allow the hospital to breach a client’s confidentiality, even in the extreme case of death.
She said in a bid to enforce the ethical clause of confidentiality, the hospital would not be able to respond to the various enquiries by the media.
Also, the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission had said it was investigating “possible violation of patient and consumer rights” in the death of Ugboma.
The FCCPC said it was collaborating with the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria in the investigation to determine the extent of possible violation in the case.
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