A student who was denied treatment due to lack of available beds dies at LUTH

Deborah Doofan, an undergraduate of the University of Port Harcourt, died outside the Emergency Ward of the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Idi-Araba, Surulere, due to a lack of bed space to admit her into a ward in the hospital for prompt treatment.

Doofan had hyperthyroidism up until her death, which is a medical condition characterized by overactivity of the thyroid gland, resulting in a rapid heartbeat and an increased rate of metabolism.

Our correspondent learned that Doofan, a 100-level Banking and Finance student at UNIPORT, was in class when she experienced a medical emergency and was rushed to the UNIPORT Teaching Hospital.

Doofan’s elder brother, Prince, told our correspondent that his sister was receiving treatment in the hospital and was later diagnosed with hyperthyroidism in January 2022.

According to him, she was scheduled to receive treatment for the condition when medical personnel discovered she had a swollen heart and referred her to LUTH to see specialists for her condition.

“So, she left Port Harcourt and arrived in Lagos on December 24, 2022,” Prince explained. When we called LUTH to see if their specialists were on the ground, we were told that the machine that would be used for hyperthyroidism treatment was broken.

“The LUTH referred her to Ibadan’s University College Hospital. When we arrived, a doctor informed us that she would be subjected to a variety of treatments in order to reduce the swelling in her heart, which was beating very quickly.

“She needed to see specialists such as an endocrinologist, neurologist, and cardiologist, among others,” the doctor explained, “but the doctor said UCH has the machine for the treatment but the specialists were not on the ground and that she needed to see a cardiologist to certify that her heart was in good enough shape for them to put her on a machine for the treatment.”

The Benue State native stated that they were advised to see specialists at LUTH and then take the results to the UCH for treatment, which they did from January to February 2023, when the Central Bank of Nigeria’s new naira design began causing problems in the country.

“Seeing a specialist was very expensive, and because my funds were trapped in banks, it became very difficult for her to continue seeing specialists and continuing the treatments,” he added. So she was only taking oral medications, but the tablets were ineffective, and her condition worsened.

“Before that, her swollen stomach and legs were shrinking, and she was improving. She awoke one day and became restless; we attempted to raise funds to take her to the cardiologist at LUTH, but when we arrived, we were told to take her to the UCH to be treated and monitored by doctors and specialists.”

Doofan was given an appointment to resume her treatment on Monday (today), according to Prince, and she was making plans to resume it when she had a crisis and was rushed to the Epe General Hospital, from which she was referred to the LUTH.

“We arrived at LUTH around 2 a.m., dialed the emergency number, and the security officers at the Emergency Ward began asking what the emergency was,” he continued. Later, a doctor arrived, and I showed him the referral letter. He took out his thermometer, measured her pulse and temperature, and went back inside.

“After a few moments, he returned and informed us that their beds were occupied and that there was no bed space to treat her. I begged him to give her first aid or something to stabilize her until there was a bed available for proper treatment to begin.

“However, he stated that their policy prohibits them from providing treatment outside of the hospital. I then begged him to let me take her inside the emergency room and sit on the floor with her on my lap so he could give her first aid treatment, but he still refused. She died in the emergency room while I was looking for a bench or table to put her on.”

He stated that the family had begun preparations for her sister’s burial in their hometown of Benue.

When contacted, Prof Wasiu Adeyemo, Chairman of the Medical Advisory Committee at LUTH, stated that he was aware of the situation.

“I am aware, but I do not have the details,” Adeyemo said. I forwarded the story to the Head of the Department after discovering it on the internet, and I am still waiting for their response.

“When we see a patient like that, what we do is to investigate; patients sometimes come and there are no bed spaces and what we do is to refer them. However, in the event of a truly serious, critical emergency, we notify them immediately that there is no space available and provide them with options for where to go.”

Adeyemo stated that, with or without funds, it was the hospital’s responsibility to treat patients in accordance with Federal Government policy.

He went on to say. “The population is growing, the government has been responsible, and the government is building a new hospital that will give us more space. The issue is not unique to us.

“We won’t say because it is an emergency, and then chase the people that are there away. We have a very effective policy for communicating with our patients; it is unfortunate that this patient died.

“All of this will be resolved in a few months. Many of our wards are being renovated, and another building is being built in the hospital. We’d have more space by the time we’re done.

(TNT)