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Tag: LUTH

  • LUTH opens breast cancer clinic

    LUTH opens breast cancer clinic

    LAGOS University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) yesterday opened a breast cancer clinic to mark the International Women’s Day (IWD).

    The clinic, will be run in collaboration with a non-governmental organisation (NGO), Run for a Cure Africa (RFCA).

    The clinic, which will begin work next Wednesday, was funded by Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited (MPNU).

    RFCA founder Mrs Ebele Mbanugo said the clinic is the first step towards solving the problem of breast cancer, adding that it would relieve patients of the stress they go through in their treatment.

    “This place will solve the problem of going to a building to see the pathologist and another building to do radio-diagnosis. If they are able to access everything they need in one location, it makes huge difference in their ability to fight the disease,” she said.

    LUTH’s Chief Medical Director (CMD) Prof. Chris Bode urged people to opt for indigenous treatment because the facilities are available, saying: “Even after being treated abroad, the patients will still come home for continued treatment. Patients should be confident of using local hospitals. Early presentation is paramount in the treatment of breast cancer.”

    Prof Bode advised women to examine themselves regularly and report any strange discovery in their breast for diagnosis.

    “I will say they should go for yearly breast cancer screening to know their status and stay safe,” he said.

    MPNU Group Medical Director Dr Mohammed Bello-Aliyu said the organisation is committed to the development of Nigeria and its people.

    “It is our hope that beneficiaries of the breast cancer clinic will endeavour to make the most of it. We expect that you will reciprocate this kind gesture by maintaining the clinic,” he said.

  • LUTH discharges Lassa fever patient

    LUTH discharges Lassa fever patient

    The Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Idi – Araba, on Friday said that it had discharged its Lassa fever patient who had been in isolation for four weeks.

    A statement which was signed by the Information Officer of LUTH said that the patient had now tested negative to the Lassa fever virus after weeks of receiving treatment.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the first case of Lassa fever in Lagos was diagnosed at the LUTH on Jan. 15.

    It was a 25-year-old student of the Ahmadu Bello University, in Zaria, Kaduna State, who had contacted the virus before he came to visit his parents at Ifako-Ijaiye area of Lagos State.

    He was admitted in a private hospital at Ifako-Ijaiye on Jan. 9 and was transferred to LUTH on Jan.15 on an account of developing symptoms of fever, sore throat and body ache.

    The medical personnel in LUTH had run a blood test on him of which confirmed that he had Lassa fever.

    The statement said, “It is gladdening to note that the patient has fully recovered and has been discharged having tested negative for Lassa fever virus.

    “When the case was reported, the Lagos State and Federal Governments were intimated and they gave a quick response by providing logistic support including providing the drug (ribavirin) for Lassa fever.

    “The hospital also mobilised its team of specialists including nurses, virologists and medical microbiologists.

    “The patient was managed in an Isolation Centre with other drugs and adequate infection control measures put in place.

    “These included contact tracing and monitoring,’’ it said.

    The statement said that the management of the hospital applauded the Federal Ministry of Health, National Centre for Disease Control and the Lagos State Government for their quick intervention.

    According to it, the LUTH is probably one of the first hospitals in the South West that has successfully admitted, managed and discharged a Lassa fever patient in this current outbreak.

    The statement called on multinational companies, corporate bodies and individuals to support and partner with LUTH to ensure efficient health care delivery to the country.

  • CMD: LUTH is not owing doctors

    Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) has repudiated the claim its resident doctors are being owed two months’ salary.

    According to its Chief Medical Director (CMD), Prof. Chris Bode, the doctors were paid on Thursday, the day before the Association of Resident Doctors (ARD) briefed the press.

    Bode said it was an error for LUTH’s ARD President  to have told Nigerians a “blatant lie.”

    He said: “For the ARD President to stand in front of the press last week Friday, February 5th,  and told Nigerians that his Association was owed two months’ salaries was a blatant lie as his association members had received their salaries from the Federal Government on the night of Thursday 4th February. We should praise this government for its gallant efforts in these trying times.”

    Bode said: ”We doctors are not the only Nigerians owed salaries in the current dispensation and we should be patient while the new government tries to sort out the financial problems confronting the nation. Our fellow Nigerians are owed several months in some states and this present situation will be swiftly resolved as soon as the payment platforms are funded, an issue we continue to take up with the appropriate government agencies. It is, therefore, advised that we should be patient for a little longer.”

    He said the delay in the payment of salaries was because of shortfalls in personnel emoluments.

    “Appeals have been made to the authorities to stop the recurring shortfalls in personnel emoluments to our institutions, and efforts are being made to convince the government to return doctors to the IPPIS payment platform which we fought hard to be removed from only two years ago. If we had been patient over the initial hiccups on the then newly-introduced IPPIS system, we might not be in the situation we now find ourselves. It is advised that the NMA leadership should make haste and exhibit purposeful leadership and maturity over our trainee doctors.”

    Bode also spoke on skipping allowance. He said the payment of “Skipping” is a national issue which the ARD and NMA should take up at various levels.

    “With over 600 resident doctors, LUTH is not in a position to pay over N50 million a month until the government provides the cash to back up the directive to pay through necessary appropriations. We all recall the futile outcome of the intense pressures applied to the wrong targets by the last ARD executives. This present exco was advised to change tactics and employ available lobbying options on this matter in this democratic dispensation.

  • LUTH Diary: Let us pray

    This piece will be the last in my three-part series on my two-week admission at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH).

    I thank those who have called, congratulating me for surviving the sickness that could have added me to the list of many who have died after ‘ a brief illness’.

    I remain ever grateful to God for divine healing and taking control of a number of instances during my admission, when even the medical personnel were not too sure of what to do.

    I still remember the drama that played out the day I was discharged.

    A team of doctors arrived my bedside and for almost twenty minutes, they reviewed my case but couldn’t agree whether to discharge me or ask that I undergo some more tests.

    A senior Consultant passing by to see another patient had to be asked for his opinion. Based on my test results, he said I had no business remaining on the hospital bed and should be discharged.

    Shortly after arriving the hospital, I was asked to go for dialysis. While waiting to find the right place for the treatment since the service was not available in the hospital, two other medical personnel that attended to me said I should put it on hold.

    Eventually, it was resolved that I went for three sessions of dialysis.  Thankfully, the diagnostic centre I went to was efficiently run, and based on the results, the doctors concluded that just one session was enough.

    Considering the critical health conditions of most of the patients on admission at LUTH, one would have expected that the necessary facilities for any kind of test and service would be available at the top rate institution. Unfortunately, that was not the case.

    The diagnostic centre I went to was in Oshodi, some kilometres from LUTH and anything could have happened on our way to and from the centre that could have complicated my condition. My wife almost got duped at a laboratory around LUTH, which did not have the capacity to conduct a test I was required to do.

    Getting the right treatment does not only depend on doctors, but also on getting the right test to properly diagnose every ailment. One of my test results from one of the most reliable recommended private laboratories turned out to be misleading. The doctor asked for a repeat and his doubt was confirmed when the new test result reverted to the trend before the wrong one.

    One of my test results went missing at the test centre in the hospital and it was later discovered to have been wrongly filed midway into conducting another one. A nurse told me how she was once given another person’s test result and she rejected it because she knew her case was not as critical as reflected by the result she was given.

    So what has prayers got to do with all the instances listed above? My son who ran most of the errands during my stay in the hospital was so alarmed by not only the critical conditions of the patients, but the dire implication of errors in the various medical procedures that he said, more than ever before, he now knows what to pray for about patients on admission.

    Prayers for hospital patients and doctors have since become top on my prayer list.

    Not only do I pray for divine healing for the patients since the best doctors themselves admit all they can do is care, I usually remember to pray for wisdom, knowledge and understanding about every medical condition for doctors.

    I also pray against wrong diagnosis that can mislead doctors, and for patience and strength for nurses to cope with the many patients they have to attend to.

  • Lassa fever claims first casualty in Lagos

    Lassa fever claims first casualty in Lagos

    The Lagos State Government Friday confirmed two more cases of Lassa fever in the state with one of the victims already dead.

    The development brought the number of Lassa fever cases in the state to three, including the index case at Ahmaddiya Hospital in Ojokoro part of the state.

    The Commissioner for Health, Dr Jide Idris, Friday said the index case was responding to treatment at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH).

    The second victim, he said, is a 36-year-old lady; an indigene of Kogi State who was first discovered at Naval Reference Hospital, Ojo on January 18 before she was referred to Mainland Hospital the same day and has since been receiving antiviral medication.

    Idris said Friday that her condition was stable and ambulating.

    The third case, he said, died because he presented late.

    He is said to be a 51-year-old resident of Ilasan Leki and indigene of Edo State.

    He was initially admitted at Divine Medical Centre in Ikoyi on January 12, this year, but died at 2 pm the same day before the result of the laboratory test that confirmed him positive was received.

    His corpse has been kept in the morgue in a leak proof body bag.

    He was to be buried Friday, after due consultations with his family.

    Idris said there were eight negative cases while three others were pending for confirmation.

    He said his ministry had listed 447 contacts of the confirmed cases and 438 (98 per cent) of the contacts were being monitored.

    “The three confirmed cases are not related in terms of source of infections,” he stated.

    The Commissioner said his ministry had requested for more Ribavirin injection and tablets, personal protective equipments (PPEs) and other items from the Federal Ministry of Health (FMOH), Abuja.

    The Commissioner for Environment, Hon Samuel Adejare, said open defecation and dirty environment should be avoided in order to rid the environment of rodents.

    He said: “Cultural change is expected at this point in time. People should learn to live more responsibly.

    “The state, through the Ministry of Environment, will step up its game of environmental laws through the police and Kick Against Indiscipline (KAI) Brigade.”

    The two commissioners said whenever they notice any symptoms of Lassa fever, particularly persistent high fever that is not responding to standard treatment for malaria and typhoid, members of the public and health workers should report to the nearest health facility or call the following lines: 08037170614, 08022234273, 08022241768 08033065303, 08033086660, 08055281442 and 08023169485.

    They enjoined suspected cases or their relatives to report promptly to health facilities because early medical intervention can save lives.

  • Fake doctor not our employee – LUTH

    Fake doctor not our employee – LUTH

    The Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) Friday distanced itself from the alleged impersonator, Opeyemi Adesina who was recently nabbed by the police.

    Adesina, 43, was arrested by the Alakara Police Division for allegedly parading himself as a Consultant Gynaecologist with the hospital.

    Also discovered in his possession were seven forged certificates, which he reportedly confessed to have paid N100, 000 for their production.

    Reacting to the report, LUTH assured the public that the suspect has never worked for the hospital.
    A statement signed by the hospital’s spokesperson, Kelechi Otuneme reiterated that the institution does not employ quacks.

    “The Management wishes to reiterate that Mr. Opeyemi Adesina is not an employee of the Hospital in any capacity.  The Hospital assures the general public and its esteemed patients that quacks are not employed by the Hospital,” he said.

  • LUTH keeps mum on ‘fake’ doctor’s arrest

    LUTH keeps mum on ‘fake’ doctor’s arrest

    The Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) Wednesday maintained silence on the arrest of an alleged impostor by the police.

    Operatives of the Alakara Police Station nabbed one Adesina Opeyemi, 43, who was said to be a fake doctor.

    The suspect, who has allegedly practiced for three years, was nabbed with seven fake documents, the police said.

    Opeyemi, a resident of 1, Alowolodu Street, Alapere, Ketu, was said to have claimed to be a consultant Gynaecologist.

    Although it was authoritatively gathered that his arrest was sequel to a petition to the police by LUTH management, the hospital spokesman, Kelechi Otuneme declined confirming or refuting same.

    Rather, he told The Nation on telephone that he has been directed to visit Alakara Police station for further details.

    “I have been directed to go to Alakara Police Station tomorrow (today) to get more information.

    “I am not going to say anything about whether LUTH petitioned the police. I am being careful with my words and can only give you accurate information after visiting the police station,” he said.

    But the spokesperson for the Lagos State Police Command, Dolapo Badmos, an SP, had confirmed the arrest, adding that the suspect will be charged to court for impersonation.

  • Suspected 43-year-old fake doctor arrested in LUTH

    Suspected 43-year-old fake doctor arrested in LUTH

    The police yesterday arrested a suspected fake doctor at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Idi-Araba, Mushin, Lagos.

    Adesina Opeyemi, 43, was said to have been practising for three years with forged medical certificates.

    The suspect, a resident of 1, Alowolodu Street, Alapere, Ketu, was said to have claimed to be a consultant gynaecologist.

    His arrest, The Nation gathered, followed a petition sent to the police by the hospital’s management.

    It was gathered that after investigation, Alakara Police Station under the supervision of Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP) Adebisi Lateef arrested the suspect.

    Police spokesperson Oladapo Badmos, a Superintendent of Police (SP), said seven forged documents were recovered from the suspect, adding that he would be charged with alleged impersonation.

  • Fake doctor arrested in LUTH

    Fake doctor arrested in LUTH

    The police in Lagos Tuesday arrested a fake medical doctor at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Idi-Araba.

    43-year-old Adesina Opeyemi, was said to have been practicing for three years with forged medical certificates.

    The suspect, a resident of 1, Alowolodu Street, Alapere, Ketu, was said to have claimed to be a consultant Gynaecologist.

    His arrest, The Nation gathered was sequel to a petition sent to the police by the management of the hospital, as a result of suspicions.

    It was gathered that at the completion of investigation, Alakara Police Station under the supervision of Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP) Adebisi Lateef moved in and arrested the suspect.

    Confirming the arrest, the command’s spokesperson, Oladapo Badmos, an SP, said seven forged documents were recovered from the suspect, adding that he would be charged to court for impersonation.

  • The gift of life

    November 2, last year, I was preparing to go home from the office at about 7.30pm when I started feeling feverish. Within minutes I was shaking due to cold and only managed to drive home.

    Though I didn’t use any drug overnight, I felt a bit better in the morning but stayed back home to get some treatment. It was not until Wednesday morning that I went to the hospital.

    I was diagnosed of fever and was given drugs to use. By the weekend, it seemed I was getting over what initially appeared to be a simple illness but I had to return to the hospital for further checks when the pains in my heels did not subside.

    I was admitted for some tests to be sure of what the real ailment was and by the time the results were out after two days, the Medical Director immediately referred me for an urgent treatment at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH).

    As I found out later, one of the results was so bad that the doctor couldn’t risk retaining me in his hospital. In case I didn’t have enough money on me, the director gave me N50,000 required for emergency admission in the Private Partnership Ward in LUTH if there was no bed space in the regular ward.

    As the director envisaged, there was no space for regular admission. I was given the option of staying in the car that brought me until a space could be found, or take the expensive emergency option.

    Thank God for the director, I had enough to pay for the N50,000 for 24hours stay in the emergency ward and was moved to the regular ward the next day.

    I ended up being on admission in LUTH for two weeks during which I underwent numerous tests and treatment. That I came out of LUTH is indeed the grace of God. Three patients died in the ward I stayed before I was discharged, while another, whose condition had improved and was waiting to be discharged, died a week after.

    The two weeks I was on admission in LUTH exposed me to the true state of our health system.

    At LUTH, which is supposed to be one of the best health institutions in the country, I witnessed the decay and inadequacy of facilities. Doctors, nurses and other medical personnel were obviously overwhelmed by the number of patients they had to attend to. I remember the night two nurses in my ward slept off and it took more than ten minutes of loud banging of the door to wake them.

    The competence of some personnel is questionable as their prescriptions were openly overruled by superior officers. Who knows how many patients have died due to wrong diagnosis and treatment.

    Cost of drugs and tests required to keep many patients alive are prohibitive and some died because they could not afford to pay.

    Given the various limitations, it was obvious that it takes the grace of God for any patient to come out alive from LUTH and other health institutions in the country.

    Last Thursday, my clinic appointment to see the doctor at LUTH was extended for two weeks because there were too many others waiting to be attended to on the same day.

    Years of neglect, as President Muhammadu Buhari once noted in a coup speech, has turned our hospitals into consulting clinics. Hopefully, now that he is back in the saddle, he will do what is needed to improve on health delivery in the country.

    I thank God for the gift of life. Indeed, doctors and other personnel can try their best to care; only God can heal.