•Dr.Umoh Michael
A Physician at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Idi-Araba, has died following what colleagues considered as exhaustion after he was made to perform a 72-hour surgery without a break at the neurosurgery unit of the specialist healthcare facility.
The doctor who was on housemanship in LUTH died on Sunday, September 17 after he slumped inside a pentecostal church during service at about 11am.
The Association of Resident Doctors made this known in a letter dated September 19, and addressed to the LUTH’s Chief Medical Director (CMD).
The doctors in the letter titled ‘’An Appeal By The House Officers Of LUTH’’ accused their senior colleagues of bullying, giving them stressful call hours without breaks, and not providing feeding and good accommodation.
“We the house officers are in deep grief over the loss of our colleague, a co-House officer (Dr Umoh Michael) who died on 17th September, 2023, after having a 72hrs call in Neurosurgery Unit. He is said to have been on call 72hrs before arriving home on Sunday morning to get set for church service, reaching his worship center (United Evangelical Church) where he slumped in the church at about 11am.
“His roommate attested to the fact that Umoh Michael has barely slept in their apartment over the past one week as he was always on call or the day he returns home is around 3am after surgeries and other activities in Neurosurgery Unit,” the letter reads in parts.
The protest letter indicated that the doctors have long standing challenges since they resumed housemanship in the hospital.
They identified “bullying from senior colleagues, stressful call hours without breaks in between, no call food, no good accommodation” as the striking challenges they routinely contended with in LUTH.
But the LUTH’s Public Relations Officer, Omolola Fakeye, has denied the claim by Umoh’s colleagues that anybody worked for 72 hours non – stop.
“It is not true that anybody worked for 72 hours. I have not been briefed about his death.
“We were at a programme yesterday (Monday), but I will find out; I can’t say anything now. I will check the medical report of what could have happened because anybody can say anything, but the medical report will show us what happened,” she was reported to have said.
