The Chairperson of the Senate Committee on Health, Senator Banigo Ipalibo, has said the Senate would take steps to tackle the menace of ‘one chance’, a notorious criminal gang operating in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and other major cities.
Ipalibo gave the assurance yesterday in Abuja when she led members of her committee on an ‘on-the-spot assessment visit’ to Maitama District Hospital in the territory.
The committee was on the visit to assess the situation that led to the recent tragic passing of one Greatness Olorunfemi as a result of the activities of one chance operator in the area.
The visit, News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), recalled that the visit was a sequel to a motion moved by Senator Asuquo Ekpenyong (APC-Cross River), mandating the Senate Committee on Health to investigate the situation that led to the death of one Olorunfemi.
NAN reports that Olorunfemi until her death was a community developer and member of the Young African Leaders Initiative Network.
She was reportedly forcibly ejected from a moving vehicle along the Maitama-Kubwa highway after being stabbed by criminals who had robbed her.
Bystanders who witnessed the incident promptly rushed her to Maitama District Hospital, but she was allegedly denied treatment for failure to produce a police report which resulted in her death.
The lawmakers were received by Dr Olugbenga Bello, acting Director-General of the Hospitals Management Board, FCT, and were shown Closed-Circuit Television footage of a series of the events that occurred the day Olorunfemi was rushed to the hospital.
“We have listened to several testimonials and insights into the unfortunate incident that led to the unfortunate death of Greatness Olorunfemi.
“All of us are quite pained at what happened because one life is very important and for a young lady who was still very active in her community services.
“We condole with the family. Unfortunately, no member was able to be here. The father had sent a letter earlier.
“Having gone wards around the hospital, we have seen definitely that there exist some systemic gaps which require closure,” Ipalibo said.
The lawmaker assured that the Senate would take some actionable steps to close those gaps in the nation’s hospitals.
She, however, expressed appreciation to the Minister of the FCT, Nyesom Wike, and his team who provided more couches for the hospital.
“This is because that day, there was not even one to carry the victim out for examination. We believe that with the various actionable steps that we will be taking, we will do what we have been called to do, as people’s representatives.
“To ensure we make available those things that can provide timely and urgent treatment for our citizens in accident situations and other situations,” the lawmaker said.
Ipalibo further urged the management of the Maitama District Hospital to ensure the activation of the National Emergency Medical Service and Ambulance (NEMSAS), responsible for medical emergency services in the country.
Earlier, the acting Director-General Hospitals Management Board FCT, Dr. Bello, tendered the Board’s apology.
He said, “However, after assessing this patient by three people we don’t need exotic gadgets to assess whether somebody is alive or not.
“We had checked the pulse, the doctor used the stethoscope to check the heartbeat and there was none. These are evidence of the absence of life.
“And I think it is at that point that they considered that this was no longer an emergency. She was brought in dead.
“All the same, we apologise for assessing the patient in the car and for taking a while to do that.”
