Cc:
Governor Babatunde Fashola
The Minister Of Health
Vice President Good Luck Jonathan

January 19, 2010, was a sad day for my family, Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) killed the new addition to our family and two other babies, all the same minutes. This write up is not the ranting of a man mourning or feeling a lost and wanting to blame somebody, it is a piece meant to correct and if possible seek the punishment of the wickedness and lack of professionalism of the LUTH staff. We are sad not because we lost a child, but because our child was murdered.

Three babies (our daughter is less than 24 hours old) were killed by the nurses and doctors on night duty on the 18 January. The three newborns gasped, thrashed their legs, and fought for their existence under oxygen masks that can no further dispense. The oxygen simply finished while the staff on night duty went to sleep, allowing the cold hands of death to snatch the young children away. We were notified by 4.00 am on the 19th of the demise of our baby, who just the last night was a bundle of joy to our family. Our daughter could have been another Chimamanda , or Mary Onyali, or even another Nobel laureate.

Describing the nurses and doctors as wicked may sound rather harsh, but how do one explain a scenario in which a member of my family present, went to the nurses to alert them of the children gasping under the mask, and she was insulted and told not to disturb their sleep, with the false assurances that the babies were okay. She went to complain more than four good times but they refuse to heed. When the children died eventually, the other two parents were told they failed to buy the necessary drugs, ours was simply hinged on the act of God-the drugs of course had been purchased. Even one of their silly doctors promised that the baby would be revived, after 4 hours of being dead -talk about a miracle LUTH. Ever since this happened, LUTH has not issued a statement, no one has said anything, no one has been held accountable, the system of killing patients simply continued.

The painful part of this whole sad event is our wife still lies at the General Hospital recovering from a caesarian operation without knowing that her child has been killed by LUTH. She asks after her baby and we keep telling her she is recuperating in LUTH. Our wife’s blood pressure is high, why should we kill her with the news of the death of a child she went through trauma to deliver. Yes, surely at appoint she would be told, probably when she gets back home, but can any one endure the loss of a nine months old pregnancy to the wickedness and madness at LUTH. The inhuman act at LUTH could make any one contemplate the ‘cold murder’ of the nurses and doctors on duty, and those connected with the killing of the innocent 3 babies. From the nurses to the administrators who allow an almost finished oxygen cylinder to be used – it would all be a reminiscence of ‘A time to kill’ by John Grisham.

The sad journey actually started at the Orile Agege, General Hospital located at Ilepo bus stop of the Lagos Abeokuta express where the most amazing and crazy things in health care systems happens at the maternity section. Only one doctor and probably three nurses catering for about fifty women at a time- this is not an exaggeration. The doctor works round the clock and delivers an average of seven children every day, it also took him more than twenty four hours to write drug prescription for our wife who just had a caesarian. Most of the time, the staff are overwhelmed and they simply ignore the cries, and close their eyes to suffering pregnant women, until the babies head are out, or the ‘water has broken’ Why should a heavily pregnant woman who died on getting to the hospital be left inside the vehicles that brought her with people walking by to have a look at her already rigid body, that was beginning to look like iced stock fish.

Our wife delivered through a caesarian (one of my brothers said 9 out of 13 births he knows about the last 6 months were done through caesarian why?) and our baby was healthy except for breathing problems. They were first referred to ‘Ayinke house’ where there was ‘no space’ and later to LUTH. It took over an hour to get an ambulance to convey the baby after eventually fighting and cursing (how much is an ambulance for heavens sake), especially as they refused to use a regular vehicle. The question here is why should we have to get to ‘Ayinke house’ before discovering there was no space, couldn’t they have just call and alert them of patients coming or ask if they could bring a patient so they could be prepared. No wonder we are called a third world country!

Our health care system stinks, to say the giant of Africa, fifth largest producer of crude oil, and the largest black African country can not effectively run a health care system is a shame. Since we can not all go to the national hospital at Abuja or go to Saudi Arabia, can they at least let these hospitals function. At the said General hospital, they have no x-ray machine, not even an outdated one. Please could any one help me inform the minister of health that the staff at LUTH through sheer wickedness, lack of professionalism, and inhuman tendencies murdered 3 Nigerian babies, by letting them gasped to death when the oxygen in their gas mask finished. Our health system is a failed system and part of a failing state.

My elder brother who is the father of the baby has lost faith in the entity called Nigeria. He has resolved to pack his bags and take the surviving members of his family away before they are murdered, either through a non professional hospital staff or a trigger happy police man. Please tell Prof. Dora to keep rebranding.

Sorry about d loss of the poor innncent child. Its unfortunate.the health delivery system in nigeria is so poor. The truth is there might have been negligence on the part of the nurses, but the truth is that they are usually overworked or overwhelmd wt ton many patients. There is obviously manpower shortage particularly in the health sector, WHO R THE PEOPlE WE WANT TO REPORT TO.?ofcourse they r awere of the situation, since they dont use these facilities they dnt care.THEY PREFER TO SEND THEIR RELATIVES ABROAD FOR HEALTHCARE, with the billions that is meant to serve millions of people. The life of a common man means nothing to them.LETS PRAY FOR OURSELVS AND OUR NATION.

when i read through your post i must confess i sobbed.i sobbed simply because the situation would have been efficiently handled if it were to be in an advanced society.Nigeria is messed up and it really hurts me.i just cant come to terms why a woman dat had laboured for 9 mths wldnt reap its fruits.I am a mother of a 1yr old boy and i know what i went through while i was pregnant and even during delivery.please do accept my condolence and cheer your brother up.It is well in Jesus name

Wot a sad story.Our health system is extremely poor.I just hope Prof.Nora akunyili will get to read this.A situation that could av been prevented.Anyway the harm has been done already.We only pray such should not occur again in future.Just imagine,u had ur money and u are ready to pay for the service but they are not even ready to give you the service.The nurses needs orientation,they seem not to value human lifes.It is not by force to be a nurse or a doctor,it was of their own freewill so why the nonchalant attitude.I think if they can be punished for such,others will learn to be serious with their job.By the time they sack one or two people.Others will sit up.

I pray that the Mum will recover fast and only God himself can console the mother.Am a mother of two myself and I can imagine how it was.Accept my condolence.And God will console d father too.God will give them anoda that would stay.

LUTH has always being Death Zone since early 90's. They kill my lovely partner with same preventable error like yours.