University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital (UITH), Ilorin, Kwara State has seized the remains of a patient and arrested one of the relatives for physically assaulting a medical doctor.
Three family members of the deceased, one Alhaji Saliu, on Tuesday, December 27, were said to have assaulted a medical doctor in the Accident and Emergency Wing of the UITH over alleged nonchalant attitude of the facility’s medical staff.
Trouble started shortly after the news of the death of their relative was announced to them at the hospital.
The deceased was said to be suffering from blood related disease and was rushed to the facility on Tuesday following complications after a business trip, but when relatives got news of his death, they in a fit rage, attacked one of the doctors on duty and accused him of negligence.
A relative of the deceased simply identified as Abdul said the hospital had held on to the corpse because of the unfortunate incident.
“We rushed Alhaji Saliu to the emergency ward of UITH around some minutes after 5:00am on Tuesday and despite all our pleading for a doctor to attend to him, nobody obliged us,” he narrated.
“We were surprised to see doctors coming to attend to us several hours later after a medical personnel, who saw our plight confirmed he was dead. That infuriated the relatives and they reacted by descending on one of the doctors that came. Since then, they have vowed not to release the corpse unless we produce some other people that beat the doctor,” he said.
The Head, Corporate Affairs Unit of the UITH, Mrs. Elizabeth Ajiboye, confirmed the development on Wednesday, saying doctors under the aegis of Association of Resident Doctors of Nigeria in the hospital were protesting the assault on colleague.
The Resident doctors, she added, urged “the management of the hospital not to release the corpse without arresting and prosecuting the culprits.”
Ajiboye, who appealed to members of the public to stop attacks on health workers said that the patient’s case was presented late with severe complications.
