Abiodun Nejo
Following complaints of patient relatives’ assault on doctors and other health care workers at the Ekiti State University Teaching Hospital, Ado Ekiti, the state government has set up a 10-man panel of enquiry to probe and address incidents.
The panel co-chaired by Dr Femi Thomas and Dr Sunkanmi Alabi, will also, among other things, “investigate the perceived poor health worker attitude and suggest measures to improve quality of care delivered at the Accident and Emergency Department of the hospital”.
The Commissioner for Health, Dr Oyebanji Filani, gave the committee 72 hours to submit its interim report while its comprehensive report was expected within two weeks.
In a statement in Ado Ekiti on Wednesday, he stated, “A comprehensive capacity-building programme for all staff members will also be initiated shortly to ensure optimal service delivery while creating a safer and more conducive work environment.
“We want to assure members of staff and the public that swift action has been taken in response to these regrettable events (assaults on personnel) as the suspects involved have been apprehended and charged to court, while measures to enhance security within the hospital premises have been implemented.
“Additionally, we acknowledge the concerns raised by care-seeking members of the state regarding the challenges they face in accessing healthcare services at EKSUTH. Rest assured, we are actively investigating these bottlenecks with a view to streamlining and improving service delivery”.
Filani, who said that the Ministry of Health directed the EKSUTH Board to set up the review panel to thoroughly investigate the complaints, urged the general public “to remain calm as we work to address these matters effectively”.
The police, in January, arraigned six drivers at an Ekiti State Chief Magistrate Court, Ado Ekiti District over an attack on the Ekiti State University Teaching Hospital, assault on personnel, and vandalisation of the hospital property.
Some men, angry over the death of a patient in the hospital, had attacked the hospital and in the process forcibly removed the corpse.
The defendants arraigned before the court were Babalola Temitope (30), Egunjobi Babatunde (50), Adebayo Ojo (54), Akintola Adebayo (53), Festus Wele (48) and Michael Ogunleye (45).
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