By Desire Emmanuel
Following the alleged carelessness of a medical doctor which led to the removal of the two breasts of a female patient during surgery, a hospital in Benue State has been sealed off by the state government.
It was gathered that the state government sealed off the St John’s Hospital, located in the Otukpo area of the state, for what it described as substandard medical practice of the medical doctor (names withheld).
Announcing the development on Saturday, the Commissioner of Health and Human Services in the state, Dr Paul Ogwuche, said hospital was sealed off following a petition received over the way doctor carelessly removed the breasts during a surgery on November 25.
Dr Ogwuche said after receiving the petition against what the doctor allegedly did, the ministry dispatched the ministry’s enforcement team to the hospital on on Friday afternoon.The commissioner said that the team was led by the Director of Medical Services, Dr. Agbadu Iorbee Joshua, with support from the Chairman of the Anti-Quackery Committee of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), Dr. Alex Tyover Iorbo, and Desk Officers for Otukpo and Gboko local government areas on routine field monitoring.
Dr Ogwuche said, “During the inspection of St. John’s Hospital, Otukpo, the team found the facility operating in a substandard and unsafe environment and also failing to follow approved treatment protocols.”The malpractices included a reported case of the removal of both breasts of a patient allegedly carried out on the 25th of November without adherence to established clinical guidelines
“So, the hospital was immediately sealed off and the medical doctor was issued a formal query. He was ordered to report to the ministry for further investigation on Monday.”
While urging all healthcare workers to maintain strict professional standard, the commissioner warned that the government will not hesitate to take firm action against any facility found endangering patient lives.
