The Federal Capital Territory Administration has vowed to reawaken its mortality review process, so as to ensure transparency and accountability in the health sector in the territory. The promise is coming in the wake of the recent death of a resident, Greatness Olurunfemi, who allegedly died after she was stabbed and thrown out of a moving cab.
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Viral social media reports had claimed that the deceased, Greatness Olurunfemi, died on 26th, September 2023, after she was allegedly rejected at the Maitama General Hospital where she was rushed for treatment.
Unconfirmed reports claimed that the young Olurunfemi allegedly died at the government owned facility due to negligence as medical personnel on duty insisted on a Police Report before attending to her.
However, speaking during the inauguration of a nine man “Investigative Panel on the alleged death of Ms. Greatness Olurunfemi in Maitama District Hospital,” the Mandate Secretary of the FCTA Health Services and Environment Secretariat, Dr Adedolapo Fasawe, vowed that no death will go unnoticed again in healthcare facilities across the FCT.
The secretary expressed confidence that the findings of the panel will go a long way in charting the means of improving and achieving efficient health care delivery in the territory. She explained that the administration explored the legal framework for establishing an independent and investigative panel.
“The process of appointing and constituting a 9-person panel, and the role and responsibilities of the panel in investigating the alleged death and ensuring accountability. The aim is to gain a comprehensive understanding of the steps involved in addressing such incidents and promoting a culture of transparency and accountability in the Nigerian healthcare system.”
She added that, “The process of appointing and constituting a 9-person panel to investigate the death of late Ms Greatness Olorunfemi’s death is a crucial step in ensuring transparency and accountability in healthcare systems. This investigation serves multiple purposes, such as providing closure to the patient’s family, identifying any potential malpractice or negligence, and implementing necessary measures to prevent similar incidents in the future. By constituting a 9-Person panel, the investigation process gains credibility and legitimacy, as it represents a collective effort to uncover the truth and uphold the principles of justice and patient safety.”
Responding on behalf of other members of the committee, the President of the Medical and Dental Consultants’ Association of Nigeria, MDCAN, Prof. Aliyu Muhammad, commended the FCTA for setting up the investigative panel. He expressed optimism that the process will boost public confidence on how things are conducted as it affects the well being and life of the citizenry.
“We are going to look into the system, we are going to critically analyze and come up based on the provisional investigations that will be carried out on everyone who has something to do with what happened. It is a dreadful situation but we are going to refer to all parties concerned, we are going to refer to the system, to the government and most especially to the family. Whatever is clearly appears to us as evidence, is what we are going to submit as our report and it is what we are going to advice the system.
If the system is working, we would give advice on how to improve it. If the system has some fault, we are going to advise on how to prevent future occurrences.
The panel members drawn from across different medical associations, has the following terms of reference: To ascertain the clinical status at the time of arrival of the patient and any progression to and until death; To determine the role of parties in the matter of Ms. Greatness Olorunfemi and her unfortunate death; and to make recommendations for similar situations like this case.
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