Some drivers in Port Harcourt, Rivers state, have expressed their disappointment and anger at a medical facility over their negligence resulting in the death of their colleague, Kelvin Edonoge.
Kelvin was reported to have undergone a surgery on his neck at the hospital and hours later, he had some complications and bleeding and there was no doctor to attend to him till he died.
A report stated that the surgeon was nowhere in sight and they tried to reach him several times and they couldn’t. The report went further stating that when they were able to contact the surgeon, he refused to come to the hospital because he was far away.
A protester said, “He (Kelvin) brought himself here with his wife for a minor surgery due to a slight growth in his neck. He was admitted. He came out of the surgery and then the surgeon left.
“After two to three hours, according to the wife, he started bleeding. Then, he couldn’t speak again. They tried their best to reach out to the surgeon but he wasn’t picking up.
“When he finally picked up, he told them he was far away and that he could not come back. Now, the resident doctor on ground could not do anything, and this young man died between 6pm and 4am; somebody who came in alive was rolled out dead.”
The father of the deceased, Dominic, described his son’s death as unjust. He said his son was treated like an armed robber who doesn’t deserve attention.
Dominic said, “They just did it as if he was an armed robber or someone unknown. The operation was not successful and it was not the will of God to kill my son.
“The management has never invited me or my wife to say this was what happened. They never did. I paid for the ambulance. I will contact a lawyer and take up the matter.”
The state Police Public Relations Officer, Grace Iringe-Koko, said there is nothing they can do to the case since the incident hasn’t been officially reported
Grace said, “Did they report the matter to the police? If they haven’t, that is the first thing to do, and then we will take it from there. For now, the command is yet to get such a report.”
At the time of the protest, the aggrieved protesters were unable to gain access into the hospital as the medical facility was heavily guarded by policemen.
