Agony of A Father: 10 hrs after crying for help, National Hospital left my son to die — Monarch

Forum 1 year ago

Agony of A Father: 10 hrs after crying for help, National Hospital left my son to die — Monarch

Today, we serve you two pathetic cases of negligence in our major hospitals, resulting in the death of two Nigerians who possibly could have been alive today if our hospitals were not what they have become – pathways to death.

The first story is told by our columnist, Tony Eluamuno whose account of the death of Dr Victor Abunwa, a Veterinary doctor is hearth-breaking. Read the story in his column below.

The second story is told by Chief Emeka Ogbonna, a pharmacist who is also the Inyi 111 of Amainyi. It is the story of the avoidable passing of his son in a national hospital where life is feared. With obsolete facilities, and a lack of professionalism and competence, fear is the commonest thing on the faces of patients and their loved ones.

Chief Ogbonna experienced this and posted the story of his son on Facebook. It reads:

My son, Prince Pharm. Obinna Emeka, registered pharmacist and writer was knocked down by a vehicle on April 1, 2023, at about 7.10 pm at Kubwa. He was taken to Kubwa General Hospital immediately and there was no medical doctor to attend to him for close to three hours before one doctor came and referred him to National Hospital.

At National Hospital, the doctors insisted that he would not be attended to until they had his full body scan and x-ray. The body scan and x-rays Machines in the National Hospital were not working and have not been working for close to two years.

He was taken to a private hospital to obtain the full body scan and when my son, Pharmacist Obinna Emeka, was brought back to National Hospital, it took the hospital medical team close to two hours for documentation before he was taken in for medical attention.

At this time, his veins had collapsed. The medical team after watching my son as he gradually stopped breathing came out and announced to his friends and people who brought him to the hospital that they were sorry, my son, the writer, my Prince, my pharmacist who worked with me in our pharmacy till March 31, 2023, could not make it.

I am in pain. Before his death in National Hospital, Obinna was a prolific writer and pharmacist with Ziga Pharmacy Ltd. He wrote his first book, Ice Age, when he was in primary school.

In February 2023 he submitted his manuscript for his newest book to a prominent publishing house.

He was 27 years old. I am in pain. I took my son to Owerri Airport on March 31, 2023, from where he flew to Abuja for a meeting and I flew to Abuja on April 2, 2023, to take his corpse back home from the National Hospital mortuary.

He was full of life.

I have lost my son to incompetence and negligence.

Please, to prevent further preventable deaths, close down National Hospital because it is mainly a death trap.

•The writer, HRH Eze Pharm. Emeka Ogbonna, is INYI III of AMAINYI.

The state of affairs in the hospital is unbelievable. Patients and family members who have had a business or two with the hospital said the hospital can not be trusted to treat an ailment as common as typhoid or headache as the supposed flagship referral hospital in the country is a ‘pathway to great the beyond.’

Our correspondent who visited the hospital, during the week, spoke to some security personnel and janitors of the hospital, who revealed that the worst hit is cancer patients. Patients who need emergency attention are made to wait endlessly. Many do not make it.

The NHA was established by the wife of the former Head of State, General Sani Abacha, as a family support facility for women and children in 1997 before it was taken over in 1999 by the Federal Government.

Poor funding, bad management, brain drain, inadequate staffing and frequent strikes by staff have affected the hospital badly.