The Nigerian Human Rights Community (NHRC) has called on the National Assembly to investigate the death of Mrs Lydia Idowu Adedipe, who allegedly suffered unprofessional medical treatment at the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan.
Family sources said Mrs Adedipe, who had ovarian cancer, died on Wednesday, 28 March, after enduring inadequate medical care.
Despite paying millions of naira, she was housed in an unsanitary ward and subjected to degrading treatment, exacerbating her suffering.
The NHRC in a statement on Friday described UCH as an institution responsible for excessive patient deaths.
“Many people are dying at UCH due to many factors, the chief being the loss of humanity in the medical staff, which is far more than the lack of equipment, which is also a real problem,” NHRC stated.
“We call on the National Assembly to probe the circumstances surrounding the death of Mrs Adedipe. Families and relatives watched her die while the staff did not show any empathy, undermining the core principles of medical ethics. Her death could have been avoided if the right thing was done,” the NHRC said in a statement signed by Olubodun Alao.
The group accused UCH of failing in its role as a life-saving institution. “While many Nigerians come over to the UCH to save their lives, the institution has become the first line of death for many patients,” the statement read.
“In Nigeria, UCH is expected to be the most remarkable medical institution. Today, UCH is a shadow of itself. Apart from poor management of material and human resources, the centre is hub to the worst form of medical workers who appear to take delight in seeing people lose their lives even after millions of funds have been expended to save their loved ones.”
The NHRC lamented that UCH had failed to meet global medical standards. “The private suit became death suit. The medical workers are not just inhuman but callous. UCH has become the home of death instead of life,” the coalition stated.
The statement further decried the lack of basic amenities at UCH, warning of the risk posed to patients. “Today’s UCH lacks water, no light, no lift, with a highly unhygienic environment where patients are at risk of communicable diseases.”
Calling for urgent reforms, NHRC insisted that legislative intervention is necessary. “We call for a complete overhaul of the UCH. The National Assembly needs to do something before it is too late.
The medical workers are enemies of the patients they are expected to protect. The facilities are poor and ill-maintained.
Officials seem to be only after money and do not care about human lives both in their actions and in their utterances. The UCH has become a huge embarrassment to Nigeria.
