Ola ‘Kiya, Reporting
DETAILS have emerged on how a resident doctor with the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) in Idi-Araba, Dr. Michael Umoh, collapsed and passed after 72 hours marathon engagement with patients.
Umoh reportedly breathed his last during church service on Sunday September 17 after returning from the marathon engagement without observing some rest.
The resident doctor at LUTH was said to have succumbed to exhaustion after the arduous 72-hour surgery marathon in the neurosurgery unit.
Speaking on the tragedy, the Association of Resident Doctors at LUTH in a letter on Tuesday September 19, addressed to the hospital’s chief medical director, raised several concerns.
The concerns included allegations of bullying by senior colleagues, grueling call hours without adequate breaks, and the absence of proper food and accommodation for the medical staff.
The letter, titled ‘An Appeal By The House Officers Of LUTH,’ expressed its deep sorrow over the loss of their colleague, Dr. Umoh Michael.
The association said Dr. Umoh had just completed a demanding 72-hour call duty in the Neurosurgery Unit before returning home on Sunday morning to prepare for church service at the United Evangelical Church.
He collapsed there at around 11:00a.m.
One of his roommates said Dr Umoh had barely slept in their apartment over the past week, as he often returned home in the early hours of the day after marathon surgeries.
Reeling out their demands, the resident doctors insisted that house officers, who completed call duties the previous day, should either be allowed a half-day off the following day or permitted to resume work by midday.
They also called for a limit on consecutive working hours, stating that house officers should not be required to work for 48 hours at a stretch.
The doctors stressed the need for affordable or heavily subsidized compulsory health checks at the beginning of their housemanship.
They appealed to their senior colleagues, the senior registrars and registrars, to create a more hospitable work environment.
They emphasized that house officers should not be burdened with tasks that should be carried out by support staff, nurses, or patient relatives.
As of the time of reporting, LUTH had not issued a response to the concerns raised by the doctors.