Last week, I woke up to a cryptic message posted on the WhatsApp status of my cousin, Phillips Akinsuyi. He wrote: “Mummy, I am still trying to convince myself that I did enough for you before you passed. I know my sisters and I did all we could and gave you the very best of medical care, but I will keep trying to convince myself because I could have done much more.”
In another post, he lamented that doctors had sent him to purchase medication from the pharmacy when, according to him, they already knew his mother was on the verge of death. He was particularly distressed that he was not by her side when she took her last breath.
I was puzzled by these messages. First, I was shocked to learn that Mama Ajibola Akinsuyi, a deeply religious and responsible woman who raised her children in the fear of God, had passed away. Secondly, my cousin had earlier informed me that she was battling a cardiac condition, and I knew how much effort he had made to ensure she received the best medical care he could afford.
I immediately called him to commiserate with him and, more importantly, find out what had happened.
My cousin, who was understandably distraught, recounted how he and his siblings rushed their mother to the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) on Thursday, October 22, at about 9am in an emergency. She had initially been receiving treatment at Ahmadiyya Hospital before being referred to LASUTH.
According to him, upon arrival at the emergency ward, the family was asked to pay ₦213,000 for a bed space and approximately ₦160,000 for a series of medical tests before their mother, who was still in the car, could be admitted. They eventually negotiated the cost of the bed space down to ₦203,000, while he paid about ₦70,000 for some of the tests.
After these payments, his mother was eventually admitted into the ward. However, the family was reportedly told that nobody could stay with her. Despite his pleas to be allowed to remain by his mother’s side, hospital staff allegedly insisted that she had to stay alone, although he could occasionally go in and out to check on her.
He alleged that despite the emergency nature of his mother’s condition, the only immediate intervention she received was oxygen support, while blood samples were taken for laboratory tests. According to him, no doctor examined her until about 7pm, approximately 10 hours after they arrived at the hospital. The family had expected that, given the severity of her condition, she would receive immediate medical attention and first aid to stabilise her and alleviate her distress.
The family was also disturbed by the manner in which their mother was restrained after she became restless and struggled with her oxygen mask. Phillips explained that his mother was having difficulty breathing, allegedly because of fluid in her lungs, yet he could not understand why no further intervention was being provided to address her condition.
He recounted that one of the nurses told him: “Mama is not cooperating, and so we will have to tie her hands.”
He said he initially objected, questioning why a 79-year-old woman who had been brought to the hospital for emergency treatment should have her hands tied to a hospital bed simply because she was restless. However, following appeals from his siblings, who believed that restraining her might help prevent her from removing the oxygen mask and ultimately save her life, he reluctantly consented.
What followed, however, left him deeply distressed. He said his mother’s hands were tied to opposite sides of the bed in a manner he considered undignified and unacceptable. When he returned and saw how his beloved mother had been restrained, he became extremely angry but was again persuaded by his siblings to remain calm.
According to him, from the time his mother was restrained until her death, he did not observe any further medical intervention that could improve her condition.
He further told me that a young doctor eventually examined his mother at about 7pm and requested additional tests, directing the family to a private laboratory within the hospital premises known as BT Health & Diagnostic Center . Around 9pm, another, more senior doctor arrived and informed the family that their mother’s condition was critical.
Phillips also alleged that his mother lost a considerable amount of blood during the course of treatment after a doctor mistakenly punctured the wrong vein while attempting to attend to her. When he questioned the doctor about the significant amount of blood he found on the bed, he was reportedly told that it happened because his mother had been struggling.
Despite his mother’s deteriorating condition and reports that she was gasping for breath, Phillips said he was subsequently asked to go to the laboratory to purchase additional medical supplies. He left, apparently believing that the hospital staff would continue attending to his mother in his absence.
But when he returned, he was met at the entrance and informed that his mother had died.
In what added to his anguish, he alleged that hospital staff had already taken his mother’s body to the morgue without informing him. He had to run after them before eventually locating his mother’s body as it was being deposited in the morgue.
For a son who had rushed his mother to a teaching hospital, especially the emergency department in the hope of saving her life, the experience was devastating. That was what informed the post he made on WhatsApp. He told me if he had known that his mother will eventually die, he wouldn’t have allowed anyone tie her hands in such an undignified manner. In fact,he would have assisted her in taking off the oxygen as she desperately tried to do when she was restless and allow her pass away peacefully.
LASUTH demanded payment of N213,000 for bed space. What happens to an old retiree who cannot afford that? Also, why did it take approximately 10 hours before a doctor examined a patient brought into the hospital as an emergency? What medical interventions were undertaken during those critical hours? Was restraining a 79-year-old patient in the manner described medically necessary, and were appropriate safeguards observed? In developed countries, restraint is used as the last option when other measures have been exhausted, is that the case at LASUTH? Why was a family member sent away to purchase medical supplies when, according to the family, the patient was gasping for breath? And why was her son allegedly not informed before her body was taken to the morgue?
LASUTH officials claimed the woman was restless. Do these people know what it means to fight to stay alive? It is akin to a drowning person fighting to stay alive. If mama is comfortable, will she be restless? In fact, he told me one of the cleaners at LASUTH said ‘Mama, I like you oo. You better cooperate or else they will tie your hands. That is a callous and shameful thing to say.
Whenever I read obituary announcements of elderly people or those who had battled prolonged illnesses in advanced countries, one expression that frequently catches my attention is that they “died peacefully, surrounded by their loved ones.” It is a simple but deeply meaningful expression. No human being will live forever. Death is inevitable, but surely, there should be dignity, compassion and humanity in the way people are allowed to spend their final moments.
Why, then, should Nigerian hospitals, particularly public hospitals, routinely put families in situations where they are asked to leave the bedside of critically ill relatives to purchase medications, medical supplies or equipment from pharmacies, only to return and be told that their loved ones have died?
That is cruel. It is an experience that leaves families not only grieving the loss of someone dear to them but also tormented by the feeling that they were denied the opportunity to be present during their loved one’s final moments.
In our biblical traditions and African culture, the final moments of an elderly parent are particularly significant. It is often the moment when children gather around their dying mother or father to receive their blessings, hear their final words, reconcile differences or obtain answers to questions that may have remained unanswered for years. These moments are treasured because they cannot be recreated.
Yet, in some of our hospitals, families are sent running from one pharmacy or laboratory to another in search of items that should ordinarily be available as part of emergency medical care. By the time they return, the patient may have passed away. The family is left with no opportunity to say goodbye, hold their loved one’s hand or simply be present as they take their last breath.
This is unacceptable. While hospitals may have legitimate procedures for obtaining certain medications and medical supplies, such arrangements must never come at the expense of a patient’s dignity or the family’s right to be present during critical moments.
Less than two months ago, the family of 46-year-old Olatunde Joseph Ojelabi also accused the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) of negligence, alleging that he was left without emergency treatment for more than six hours after being brought to the hospital with serious injuries sustained in a road accident. He eventually died at the hospital on September 12.
According to the family, Ojelabi arrived at LASUTH’s Medical Emergency Unit before 9am but was kept outside the ward after officials on duty allegedly said there was no available bed.
His brother, Kolawole Ojelabi, claimed that his brother received no meaningful emergency intervention for more than six hours, until he began convulsing and subsequently suffered cardiac arrest.
He further alleged that the family was asked to purchase a plastic bucket, towel and detergent to clean blood spills on the floor. They were also reportedly asked to check the Intensive Care Unit themselves to find out whether a bed was available.
The family claimed that, during the first three days of his admission, they paid for carers, purchased drugs and paid for medical tests without receiving an adequate explanation of the treatment plan.
These allegations, alongside the account of my cousin’s experience following the death of his mother, raise troubling questions about emergency medical care at LASUTH.
Will the Lagos State Government conduct a discreet and independent investigation into these allegations? Will it establish what happened in both cases, identify any failures in the hospital’s emergency response and ensure that those responsible are held accountable?
These are not questions that should be dismissed as the grievances of grieving families. They are questions about the safety of every Lagos resident who may one day require emergency medical attention.
I am particularly concerned about the apparent disparity between the healthcare available to Nigeria’s political elite and the experience of ordinary citizens.
Our immediate past president, Muhammadu Buhari, died in a London hospital. The incumbent president, Bola Tinubu, has travelled to France for medical treatment. Recently, former Head of State Abdulsalami Abubakar was featured in an advertisement for Krishna Shalby Hospital in Ahmedabad, India, following a knee replacement surgery.
These examples raise an uncomfortable question: if those who govern us can seek medical treatment abroad, what hope is there for ordinary Nigerians who cannot afford to travel to London, France or India?
Should the poor not be entitled to quality healthcare in their own country? Should they not be able to take their loved ones to a public hospital and expect prompt, competent and compassionate treatment?
More importantly, should they not be allowed to spend the final moments of their loved ones’ lives by their side, rather than being sent from one pharmacy or laboratory to another in search of medical supplies?
The Lagos State Government must do more than issue statements whenever allegations of negligence emerge. It must establish whether these incidents reflect a wider failure in the management of emergency medical care at its public hospitals.
Does the government conduct unannounced inspections of its hospitals to establish, first-hand, how patients are being treated? Do officials speak directly with patients and their relatives, examine the availability of emergency equipment and investigate complaints about delays in medical attention?
If such inspections are being conducted, what have they revealed? And where are the consequences for hospitals or personnel found wanting?
Healthcare is not a privilege reserved for those who can afford to travel abroad. It is a fundamental responsibility of government.
No Nigerian should have to watch a loved one die because a hospital cannot provide timely emergency care. And no family should have to live with the additional pain of believing that their loved one might have survived if only someone had attended to them sooner.
I intend to write a comprehensive letter to the Lagos State Commissioner for Health, Prof. Akin Abayomi, later this week, formally bringing these disturbing allegations to his attention and demanding a thorough investigation. Let the poor breathe. Stop suffocating them.
Akinsuyi, former group politics editor of the Daily Independent, is a member of the Society of Editors, United Kingdom. He can be reached via shabydayo@gmail.com
