A sick 2-year-old boy identified as Christopher Mike-Ozugha has lost his life due to alleged negligence on the part of a Lagos hospital’s staff.
According to the dead boy’s parents, the carefree attitude of the medical officers in the hospital led to the demise of their boy at the Ikorodu General Hospital, Lagos State.
The couple, Esther and Emmanuel Mike-Ozugha while narrating the painful incident revealed that their son had difficulty in breathing and was taken to the hospital where a nurse attached him, Chris, to an empty oxygen tank for about 30 minutes.
The general hospital however stated that the child was down with severe bronchopneumonia and malaria leading to his death.
Christopher’s mother however said: “He could walk and talk at that time we got to the hospital around 1am.
“They started complaining that why did we go to a private hospital and come to them when things were getting out of hands? A doctor told one of the nurses to prepare oxygen for Chris.
“The nurse said the oxygen tank they had was not working and that we should not disturb her. Later, another nurse came and I begged her. She followed me to the Accident and Emergency Ward, where we got an oxygen tank.
“After 30 minutes, the nurse came back to check and said there was no oxygen in the tank. She quickly connected him to the central oxygen. After some minutes, it started blinking and I rushed to call the first nurse.
“She said I should leave her alone. She told me to put it off and switch it on again. I did so and it started working again. After a while, my child started misbehaving. I ran back to her. She said I should leave her alone.
“Later, the second nurse said the degree of the oxygen was low. By that time, my baby was no longer responding. Something was coming out of his mouth.”
The father of the child also corroborated the story adding that their child died around 11am.
In reaction to the claim, a Senior officer in the hospital stated that the allegation of a faulty oxygen tank by the parents was false.
The senior official further added that investigations had commenced on the alleged nonchalant attitude of the first nurse.
The Lagos state Commissioner of Health, Dr Jide Idris, has also promised to launch a probe into the case.
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