THE Lagos State Government says it has sacked and blacklisted the facility managers in charge of the management of the Hospital’s House Quarters over the elevator crash that led to the death of Diaso Vwaere at General Hospital, Odan.
The state government also suspended the General Manager of the Lagos State Infrastructure and Asset Management Agency (LASIAMA). The government also debunked the claim that there was no blood.
A statement by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Information and Strategy Olumide Sogunle, on Sunday, August 6, stated that the initial findings of the state’s panel of inquiry identified the persons who might be culpable for the incident.
The ICIR reports that Vwaere Diaso died as a result of an elevator crash at the General Hospital, Odan, on Tuesday, August 1.
Vwaere death was followed by outrage from the hospital staff and concerned Nigerians, including the Lagos State Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), which declared an indefinite strike.
Although some individuals levelled accusations of negligence and corruption against the hospital management, the state government clarified that the management of the House Officers Quarters for health workers was outsourced to a facility management company, noting that LASIAMA oversees the company’s activities.
Meanwhile, the operations and line of reporting of the facility managers have been restructured to involve the hospital management directly.
Part of the statement read: “The Lagos State Government, in recognition of the importance of providing functional and comfortable accommodation for health workers, outsourced the management of the House Officers Quarters to a facility management company. The Lagos State Infrastructure and Asset Management Agency (LASIAMA) oversees the activities of the facility management company.
“Following the incident, we immediately set up a panel to look into its likely causes, identify persons who might be culpable, and suggest ways of preventing any future occurrence. For transparency, the membership of the panel included representatives of the Medical Guild and six representatives of House Officers. The panel has now concluded its deliberations and submitted its report.
“According to its findings, the incident happened around 6.50 pm. Due to the impact, the elevator doors were damaged and needed to be forced open to rescue the trapped house officer. She was extracted at about 7.50 pm, and resuscitation commenced immediately. She was wheeled to the emergency room and was immediately attended to by a medical team led by a highly experienced consultant orthopaedic and trauma surgeon.
“The team was assisted by all house officers who were present at the time. The initial objectives were to ensure a clear airway, maintain breathing, and establish circulation. The team was also joined by two consultant anaesthetists, including the Medical Director, who intubated the patient. Despite all the efforts, she stopped breathing around 8.13pm and Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) commenced. This went on until 8.59pm when she was pronounced dead.”
Despite the state NMA confirming that there was no blood to resuscitate Diaso’s life at the time of the incident, the state government argued that there wasn’t a request for blood at the time CPR commenced.
“It is important to state that blood samples for cross-matching had not been taken and there had not been a request for blood at the time CPR commenced; it is not true that blood was not available. The state has a strong network of screening centres where blood is available. Besides, there is a register of voluntary donors who can be mobilised at very short notice.”
The statement noted that the crashed elevator was brand new and installed in 2021, adding that elevator experts working with the Lagos Safety Commission have carried out an initial inspection and will be removing the elevator for further mechanical examination.
It said the experts’ findings will determine if the government has a case with the elevator installer, noting that engineers are working to unravel why all the safety devices of the elevator failed at the same time.
The state government said the installation and maintenance contractors have been handed over to the police for further investigation and likely prosecution.
The ICIR on Saturday, August 5, reported that the Lagos state police command’s public relations officer Benjamin Hundeyin confirmed to The ICIR that three suspects in connection with the Diaso’s tragic death have been arrested.
Usman Mustapha is a solution journalist with International Centre for Investigative Reporting. You can easily reach him via: [email protected]. He tweets @UsmanMustapha_M
*LASIAMA NOT LASIMRA*
Our attention has been drawn to various publications stating that our General Manager has been sacked over an elevator tragedy.
This is entirely false due to the misconception on the part of the reporters and the media houses that failed to do their due diligence.
The agency in question here is *Lagos State Infrastructure and Asset Management Agency* ( *LASIAMA* ) and not Lagos State Infrastructure Maintenance and Regulatory Agency (LASIMRA).
Media houses, blogs and other publication medium are *hereby advised to make corrections immediately to* avoid legal action being taken against them.
*Signed* ,
*Management*