A security guard, Gordon Udofia, whose wife, Comfort, was crushed by a hit-and-run driver around the Alausa area of Ikeja, Lagos State, has demanded justice for her death.
Comfort’s colleague, Blessing, who was also a victim of the accident, was said to have sustained head injuries and fracture on her leg, and is recuperating at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital.
It was gathered that Comfort and Blessing were on their way to work and crossed the road at the Alausa bus stop to board a tricycle to their destination when the tragedy struck around 5am.
Afterwards, the victims were rushed to the Accident and Emergency Unit at the tollgate area of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, where they were stabilised.
However, Comfort’s injuries were said to be critical and she was transferred to the LUTH for surgery, but she was allegedly rejected due to lack of bed space.
Gordon, while lamenting his wife’s death, said she suffered internal injuries, adding that if she was not rejected due to lack of bed space and had undergone surgery immediately, she would have survived.
He, however, condemned the government for its failure to equip hospitals in the state with the requisite equipment needed to handle injuries associated with the brain.
He said, “When the accident happened, we rushed both my wife and her colleague to the emergency centre at the tollgate, where both of them were stabilised. The doctor said my wife needed the service of a neurologist, because she hit her head on the ground and suffered a brain injury.
“Although the doctor was able to stop the external bleeding, the injury in the brain required a scan that could only be done at two government hospitals in the state, the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital and LUTH.
“I wanted to take her to a private hospital, but I was told that the only private hospitals that had the facility were the St. Nicholas Hospital and the Eko Hospital, and I was told that I must make a deposit of N2.5m.
“The ambulance took us to LUTH, but we were told that there was no bed space when we got there. I was told to deposit N50,000 so that she could be accommodated at the spill-over unit. I was ready to pay but they still had no bed space. It was later, around 10pm, that the doctor told me that he had secured a bed space at LASUTH, and we took her there. She was admitted when we got there and I paid for tests and bought pints of blood.
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“I also paid N38,000 for the scan and N7,500 for an ambulance to move her from the surgical emergency ward to where the scan was done, and N2,500 for oxygen. When the result came out, I took it to the doctor and he said it showed that blood had flowed into her brain and that it needed to be evacuated through surgery.
“He prescribed drugs for her, but around 4am on Friday, she died before the surgery could be performed. I strongly believe that if she was not rejected due to lack of bed space and the surgery was performed on time, she would have survived. It is pitiful that in the whole of Lagos State, only two government hospitals have the facility to treat her.”
Blessing’s father, Christopher Imoni, who said he had spent N400,000 on her treatment, explained that the headlight of the car that hit her daughter was not on, adding that the driver fled the scene of the crash.
He stated, “I thank God that my daughter is alive; she told me that the car’s headlight was not on and so, they could not see it coming. Immediately the car knocked them down, the driver did not wait; it was my son, who rushed to the house to inform us that a car had knocked down his sister.
“We are praying that she recovers quickly because she is still receiving treatment. She had fracture in the leg and suffered a head injury, which is healing, as well as bruises. I have spent close to N400,000 on her treatment.”
When contacted, the Public Relations Officer, LUTH, Felix Otuneme, said the health facility did not reject patients and did not dispense treatment according to social-economic status.
Otuneme stated, “LUTH does not reject any patient; if we had rejected the victim, we would not have said she should be taken to the spill-over unit. There are instances when there are no bed spaces for patients, and we advise such patients and their families to wait a little bit until beds are available.
“I don’t know the name of this patient for us to probe exactly what happened, but the issue of bed space availability is everywhere in the world and the lack of bed space cannot be equated with rejection. Also, LUTH does not treat according to status.”
When contacted, the police spokesperson in the state, Bala Elkana, said the command had launched a manhunt for the hit-and-run driver.