Doctor’s death: Sanwo-Olu hands contractors over to police

State Governor, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu  has suspended the General Manager of the Lagos State Infrastructure Asset Management Agency (LASIAMA), among other measures in response to the shocking death of a medical doctor attached to the General Hospital in Odan, in an elevator accident, last Tuesday.

The elevator of the General Hospital, Odan, in Lagos was said to have had faults which staff had frequently complained about but to no avail.

The deceased, identified as Dr Vwaere Diaso, died on Tuesday due to injuries sustained after she was trapped for more than 40 minutes in an elevator at the Lagos Island General Hospital, Odan.

Diaso died after an elevator at the hospital which she was in, fell from the 10th floor.

Diaso, a female medical house officer reportedly died a few weeks to the completion of her Housemanship in the hospital.

The State Government which set up an investigative panel following the accident directed punitive action on some staff and contractors said to have been indicted by the panel.

The state government also directed the sacking and blacklisting of all the Facility Managers attached to the General Hospital, Odan, Lagos Island, where the accident took place.

It further announced that it has ‘handed the installation and maintenance contractors to the police for further investigation and likely prosecution if they are found culpable,’ saying the police will also investigate anyone else that might have been found to be negligent.

In addition, the government directed its safety agency ‘to immediately carry out an audit of all elevators in public offices. This is besides the usual safety arrangements that have always existed.’

In its first official response to the accident involving a medical doctor attached to the state-run hospital, the government also insisted that the contrary to claims of a decrepit elevator at the health facility, that ‘the elevator that crashed was installed brand new in 2021.’

While commiserating with the family of the deceased doctor, over what it described as ‘irreparable loss’ of the female doctor, the state government acknowledged ‘with deep regret the unfortunate elevator accident of Tuesday, 1st August 2023 at the House Officer’s residence of the General Hospital, Odan, which resulted in the death of Dr. Vwaere Diaso, a vibrant young house officer.’

It would be recalled that reacting to the death of the doctor, the Nigerian Medical Association NMA) Lagos State Chapter, directed its members to proceed on an immediate industrial action at the three government hospitals located on the Island, in the state.

A directive to that effect from the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), Lagos State chapter, said the strike follows the death of their colleague, identified as Dr. Vwaere Diaso, who died as a result of an elevator accident, Tuesday.

The NMA also declared a five-day mourning period in the state and asked doctors in the other government-owned hospitals to scale down activities as a mark of respect for the dead colleague.

The body which made this known in a press statement signed by its state Chairman, Dr Benjamin Olowojebutu, and Secretary, Ismail Ajibowo, Wednesday, also informed that the hospitals to embark on the indefinite strike are; the General Hospital, Odan, Lagos, Lagos Island Maternity Hospital, Lagos, and the Massey Street Children’s Hospital, Lagos.

NMA also said Diaso died on Tuesday at the General Hospital, Odan, Lagos, after she was trapped in the elevator for more than 40 minutes before she was rescued, and there was no blood available to resuscitate her.

“The NMA Lagos State received with rude shock the death of one of our members, Dr Vwaere Diaso, a medical house officer, whose death occurred as a result of injuries sustained when the elevator she was in crashed. This is heartbreaking, heart-wrenching, and quite unfortunate. We commiserate with her immediate family, her colleagues on the Island, the Medical Guild, and all body of doctors in Lagos State. The information we got was that she was trapped in the elevator for more than 40 minutes before she was rescued.

“We were also reliably informed that there was no blood available for resuscitation, and this has become a recurring issue as a result of the review made by the government on the previous policy on blood donation.

“To us, this was an avoidable death and it’s unfortunate that it was allowed to happen. We are pained and we are mourning. We are well aware that this same elevator has been a source of problem for many years during which several complaints have been made to all relevant agencies with no respite,” the statement read in part.

The association, however, demanded an immediate and unbiased investigation into the circumstances surrounding the incident.

Also condemning the incident, the opposition Labour Party (LP), Thursday, tackled Lagos First Lady, Mrs Ibijoke Sanwo-Olu, for claiming that the medical doctor attached to a public hospital in the state who died, last Tuesday, in an elevator accident was a victim of ‘spiritual attack.’

Reacting, Wednesday, the governor’s wife blamed ‘spiritual attack’ as cause for the death of the doctor, saying ‘an arrow has been fired into the health family.’

While addressing the media, Mrs Sanwo-Olu implied that the incident was caused by a “spiritual attack” against the health sector.

In a now-viral video, Ibijoke also linked the incident to the jet accident that occurred in the state on Tuesday while seeking answers from the crowd.

“An arrow has been fired into the health family. First of August is a day I will never forget,” she said.

“The same day a helicopter crashed, the same day a lift dropped down. How? How? How?”

The doctor’s demise has continued to attract a chorus of condemnation on social media platforms, with many Nigerians accusing the hospital’s management of negligence.

While sympathizing with the family and colleagues of late Dr Diaso, the LP chairperson, Ekong said the doctor’s death is ‘a pointer to the decrepit infrastructure and inefficient government of the Babajide Sanwo-Olu led Lagos State Government.’

“The death of Doctor Vwaere Diaso is not only avoidable but very painful and a pointer to the decrepit infrastructure and inefficient government of the Babajide Sanwo-Olu led Lagos State Government.

“We commiserate with the family of the shining star Medical Doctor on the death of their promising Daughter.

“It is only the Almighty GOD that can console the family on this tragic and avoidable death of your promising Daughter. It occurred due to the failure of the LASG. Please accept our condolences.”

Ekong said that preliminary investigation revealed that there had been complaints about the malfunctioning elevator for years without attention.

“The complaints were largely ignored until a life was lost, then suddenly, an investigative commission was immediately set up,” he said.

He said the Babajide Sanwo -Olu-led LASG has always claimed to be a working government especially in the provision of health infrastructure.

She urged the government to pay genuine attention to the citizens it governs.

Meanwhile, in a series of measures announced, Sunday, in response to the accident, the State Government while suspending the General Manager of LASIAMA, in addition to sacking and blacklisting the Facility Managers attached to the General Hospital, Odan where the accident took place, said it has ‘handed the installation and maintenance contractors to the police for further investigation and likely prosecution if they are found culpable,’ saying the police will also investigate anyone else that might have been found to be negligent.

“LASG, in recognition of the importance of providing functional and comfortable accommodation for health workers, outsourced the management of the House Officers Quarters to a facility management company. The Lagos State Infrastructure and Asset Management Agency (LASIAMA) oversees the activities of the facility management company.

“Following the incident, we immediately set up a panel to look into its likely causes, identify persons who might be culpable, and suggest ways of preventing any future occurrence.

“For transparency, the membership of the panel included representatives of the Medical Guild and six representatives of House Officers.

The panel has now concluded its deliberations and submitted its report.

“According to its findings, the incident happened around 6.50 pm. Due to the impact, the elevator doors were damaged and needed to be forced open to rescue the trapped house officer. She was extracted at about 7.50 pm and resuscitation commenced immediately.

“She was wheeled to the emergency room and was immediately attended to by a medical team led by a highly experienced consultant orthopaedic and trauma surgeon. The team was assisted by all house officers who were present at the time.  The initial objectives were to ensure a clear airway, maintain breathing, and establish circulation.

“The team was also joined by two consultant anaesthetists, including the Medical Director, who incubated the patient. Despite all the efforts, she stopped breathing around 8.13pm and Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) commenced. This went on until 8.59pm when she was pronounced dead.

“It is important to state that blood samples for cross-matching had not been taken and there had not been a request for blood at the time CPR commenced; it is not true that blood was not available. The State has a strong network of screening centres where blood is available. Besides, there is a register of voluntary donors who can be mobilised at very short notice.

“It is also important to state that the elevator that crashed was installed brand new in 2021. Elevator experts working with the Lagos Safety Commission have carried out an initial inspection and will be removing the elevator for further mechanical examination to determine why the safety features that should prevent this kind of accident did not work. Their findings will determine if we have a case with the elevator installer.

“Based on our initial findings the Lagos State Government has taken the following actions:

“We have sacked and blacklisted the Facility Managers;

“The GM of @infoLASIAMA  is to immediately proceed on suspension

“The operations and line of reporting of the facility managers have been restructured to involve the hospital management directly;

“We have handed the installation and maintenance contractors to the police for further investigation and likely prosecution if they are found culpable. The police will also investigate anyone else that might have been found to be negligent

“Engineers are working to unravel why all the safety devices of the elevator failed at the same time;

“All our staff are fully insured. We have informed our life insurance providers about this incident.

“The @safety_lasg has been directed to immediately carry out an audit of all elevators in public offices. “This is besides the usual safety arrangements that have always existed,” the report read in full.