By Adekunle Jimoh, Ilorin
Authorities of the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital (UITH) on Tuesday placed no fewer than 28 medical staff that had contact with the deceased suspected COVID-19 patient on self-isolation.
Kwara state on Monday recorded two cases of COVID-19 allegedly caused by their contact with a suspected late coronavirus patient.
Chief Medical Director (CMD) of the hospital Prof Abdullah Yusuf told.reporters in Ilorin, the state capital, that management had ordered the immediate suspension of one Prof Alakija Salami for alleged unethical conduct.
He said:”The institution said it is also working with the Kwara state government Technical Committee on COVID-19 to contact-trace all that attended
“Already, all UITH staff with close contact with the deceased patient on the night of his admission, or his corpse have been ordered to proceed on self isolation. Besides, the ‘A and E’ ward and the ambulance used to convey his corpse to Off had been promptly fumigated.
“With all these level of preparedness and precautionary measures, we were taken aback to discover how a very Senior Consultant of this hospital had facilitated the admission of a suspected case of COVID-19 at the Accident and Emergency section of the hospital on the night of Wednesday, April 1st 2020.
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“We were fed with the information of a suspected Food Poisoning, as the cause of the death of the patient until we got another lead to the likely cause of the death of the said patient. In fact, it was shocking to us that the wife of the deceased patient had tested positive for the deadly virus as announced yesterday by the kwara State Covid-19 Technical committee.
“Without belabouring the narrative that led to the unfortunate incident, I humbly request you to use channels of your various media to help convey the remote and immediate decisions we had taken on the professor who facilitated the admission of the patient.
“The management of the hospital has placed Prof A. K. Salami on immediate suspension as a senior consultant in this hospital bothering on his unethical conduct in the admission, management and eventual release of the corpse of the suspected Covid -19 patient who died in the hospital on the 2nd of April, 2020.”
He revealed that the institution had set up an investigation committee to determine the culpability or otherwise of Prof Salami.
He said the committee had been given one week to submit its report
The terms of reference of the committee according to the CMD include: investigate the allegations of the CONVID-19 suspected case that died on April, 2nd, 2020 that was brought in by a relative who, is also a member of staff (Professor A.K. Salami); investigate the process of admission, management and eventual release of the corpse; investigate motives behind the concealment of accurate information provided by the patient’s relative; determine culpability of the patient’s relative involved; make appropriate recommendations to forestall future recurrence of the act.
“This committee is to submit its report within a week from the date of their first sitting,” he said.
