The sudden demise of a female septuagenarian in Enugu hours
after she tested negative for the dreaded Covid-19 pandemic sparked off fresh
panic among residents of the Coal City State on Wednesday as the deceased
family accused the state government of failure in providing adequate medical
attention to their mother.
The deceased who reportedly returned from the United Kingdom
and was quarantined at Colliery hospital which served as isolation centre for
dreaded diseases when she displayed symptoms linked to coronavirus.
She, however, was said to have died on Sunday, the same day her result showed negative.
In a viral social media post by a lady who simply described
herself as the woman’s “heartbroken daughter”, the deceased family insisted
that she died as a result of negligence by the state government.
The claim has long been dismissed however by a grou of
health workers including Chinwe Udeh, Agatha Nnamani, Nkem Eze, Emeka Anene and
Peter Udemezue who said the woman received the best possible attention while at
the isolation centre.
According to them, even when the deceased son refused to
donate blood to the woman, the state had to source for blood from outside,
amidst other medical attention given to her.
The health workers said they will not accept any attempt by
the distraught daughter to blackmail the Enugu State government with her
claims, noting that all efforts were made to ensure that the now-deceased woman
received the necessary attention.
But, the “heartbroken daughter” who claimed that she resides
in the United Kingdom, the deceased
returned to Nigeria on Wednesday 11th March, 2020 after 5 months trip to the UK
to visit her children.
The lady, who addressed her well-worded letter to Governor
Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi wrote, "I am writing on behalf of myself and family in
regards to the 70-year-old woman suspected of the COVID -19 in Enugu published
on Saturday 14th March 2020.
"The patient who is my mother, unfortunately, passed away
on Sunday 15th March 2020 having tested negative to the aforementioned virus.
"Whilst the health workers/officials at ESUTH Colliery
Parklane had to take the necessary precautions to protect themselves against this
virus, the manner and state at which they treated my mother was inhumane.
"My mother was isolated in a dilapidated environment
that seems to have been left uninhabitable over a long period of time. The
isolation centre in Enugu is an abandoned old section of the hospital, where
the grass and debris were being cleared whilst my mother was there.
The staffs at the hospital were unprofessional in the way
they handled my mother. She was stigmatized and this made her feel worthless.
My mother arrived at the hospital on Friday 13th March,
2020, blood samples were collected on Saturday 14th March, 2020 with results
expected on Monday 16th March, 2020.
“As declared by the World Health Organisation (WHO) that
this is a global pandemic, one would expect a faster testing time. My mother
had to spend 3 days in a dire situation, without adequate health care and
unsure of what is happening around her. If the result for Covid-19 was
ascertained on time, my mother would still be here with us, as she would have
been moved to a better equipped hospital with the right experts to deal with
her underlying illnesses.
“My mother died due to the negligence and unpreparedness of
the state in putting adequate facilities including staff training in place. The
new strand of the corona virus was detected back in December 2019 and it is
absolutely disappointing that there is no appropriate isolation centre in Enugu
State.
“After the death of my mother, finding a workable stretcher
to move her body was impossible! You would expect any hospital to provide basic
facilities such as a stretcher – my mother’s body was carried into the
ambulance on a wretched tool.
“Considering that the Covid-19 result proved negative, we
can conclude that my mother died due to the following reasons –The state of the
said ‘isolation centre’ ( pictures attached), Wrong treatment, Staff
stigmatisation due to lack of training in dealing with such cases.
“Furthermore, shortly after the news of a suspected Covid-19
patient was published, the Enugu state government responded by releasing 20
Million Naira for the management of the state isolation centre.
"In my opinion, that is a little too late as strategies
for dealing with the Corona Virus pandemic should have been put in place before
now. It should not have taken my mother’s suspected case to prompt an action
from the government. The government should have anticipated this and
appropriate measures and facilities put in place.
"As l write this, l am sure that no plans has been made
for any future case of Covid-19 despite the promised allocated funds.
"In conclusion, l would like to reiterate that the
environment of the isolation centre, staff behaviour and the unpreparedness of
the Enugu state government resulted to my mother’s unexpected death.
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