Outrage as Man Stabs Nurse Over Son’s Death in Delta General Hospital.
The epidemic of unabated attacks on Nigerian health workers continued yesterday as an unidentified man violently attacked medical practitioners at Sapele Central Hospital in Delta state following the death of his son. This man in the process stabbed a nurse on duty several times nearly cutting off her ear.
The man was said to have rushed in his child who was critically ill to the hospital and immediately doctors and nurses battled to save his life but unfortunately died about an hour later. The man went wild after the news of the death of his one year six months old baby was broken to him by the doctor on duty. He immediately turned violent and accused the doctors and nurses of killing his baby vowing that “one of them must die with his son.”
According to eyewitness report, the bereaved father attempted to stab the nurse on her throat but was able dodge the object he was holding thereby stabbing the nurse on her ear.
The suspect was also accused of headbutting and thoroughly beating the nurse on that fateful day.
The suspect was alleged to have also chased one of the doctors on duty in an attempt to stab him but the doctor was able to escape.
One of the sources narrated, “The incident occurred on Wednesday at about 4pm. It was a case of a baby that was brought in with a bad health condition. The Accident & Emergency Unit resuscitated the baby and was admitted into the children ward.
“The doctors there reviewed the case and commenced medication. Being that the condition was already very bad, may be the father of the baby was expecting a miraculous recovery of the child but the condition deteriorated further and they lost the baby.
“The father of the baby was now enraged that the doctors and nurses could not save the life of his 18 months old son. He threatened that anybody that he sees is going to die with the child. So, he saw one of the nurses inside the ward and attacked her.
“He first of all gave the nurse a headbutt and the lady nurse fell on the ground. He started beating her until he brought out an object attempting to stab the nurse on the neck but the lady was able to dodge it and the object landed on the ear and almost cut off the ear.
“The doctor on seeing that was now trying to escape but the father sighting the doctor; he went after the doctor after injuring the nurse. He chased the doctor with a broken bottle. The doctor through the help of crowd that rushed to the scene he was able to escape unhurt.
“When people were shouting over the incident, he quickly rushed back to the children ward and fled with the corpse of the baby. The National Association of Nurses and Midwifery (NANM), the management of Central Hospital Sapele and the Nigeria Medical Association took the matter to the police station.”
The source said the suspect was later arrested by the police operatives from Sapele Area Command.
When contacted, the Medical Director of Central Hospital Sapele, Dr. Benedict Ogbimi, confirmed the incident, saying that the man has been arrested and charged to court over the incident.
“The suspect has been arrested and the case has been charged to court. He was granted bail on Friday. The case is now in court”, Dr. Ogbimi added.
Where do we go from here? Why have some Nigerians declared war on health workers? Earlier this year, a female doctor was stripped naked by a patient’s relatives.
Source: Niger Delta Today
