Boy attacked by dogs in stable condition – LASUTH

The management of the Lagos State University Teaching, Hospital, Ikeja has denied allegations of abandoning four-year-old Omonigho Abraham, who was attacked by two dogs.

However, in a swift reaction, Omonigho’s father, Odia, argued that the hospital authorities were lying as the doctors had neglected his son until PUNCH Metro’s report was published.

The Chief Medical Director of the hospital, Professor Wale Oke, said the victim was going through a healing process which should not be misconstrued by his relatives that his condition was deteriorating.

PUNCH Metro had reported on Thursday that Omonigho’s father, Mr. Odia, had expressed anxiety over his son’s condition.

Odia had said Omonigho’s head was giving off an offensive odour, because he had been abandoned by the medical personnel in LASUTH for two weeks.

He had also alleged that the hospital was still asking him to buy drugs, which forced him into seeking support from members of the public.

But Oke said Omonigho had not been abandoned and his condition was stable.

He said, “The boy was brought here about 34 days ago. He had been bitten by dogs. He had sustained severe injuries to his scalp.

“By the time he was brought here, we saw the injury was extensive and that he had some dead tissues. Because of the extent of the damage, we had to stop the bleeding, remove the dead tissues and administer antibiotics to the boy for the healing process to begin. It is after this (granulation), that you can develop a plan to cover the scalp.”

The CMD added that the odour Omonigho’s father was referring to was not as a result of decay but due to the chemical composition of Omonigho’s skull which had been blown open during the attack.

He added that he had not seen any application for a medical report of the boy’s condition.

He said, “The governor instructed the Ministry of Health to take over his case and subsequently, all money spent was refunded, the boy has had two surgeries, he’s been on admission, he’s eating, his wounds have been dressed and the hospital has not asked him to pay a dime.

“Mr Odia said doctors have not been coming to attend to his boy, whereas he’s not always with the boy in the hospital. He’s left many times and his wife has been the one to stand in for him. Doctors make entries every time. There is no way you will come to LASUTH with that kind of injury without getting attention.”

Oke accused Omonigho’s father of taking advantage of his son’s condition to solicit funds. He, however, maintained that Governor Babatunde Fashola had intervened in the matter.

Odia, however, marvelled at the hospital management’s explanation, insisting Omonigho had been abandoned.

He said the hospital management had been rattled by publications on the health condition of his child and was making desperate efforts to save face.

He said, “They should stop saying that they didn’t abandon my son for two weeks. It keeps irritating me. For those two weeks that the boy was here, the consultant who I know as the doctor, never showed up. It was the student doctors that came here.

“I spend most of my time here. The students would come, write their report and leave. I would ask them, ‘my son’s drugs are finished, can you write a prescription for me? And they would reply, ‘wait for the professor.’ I asked them when the professor would be coming, and they wouldn’t answer me.

“If everybody said I should wait for professor, at least he should show up once to recommend drugs to us, which had finished. Last week, I was fed up and carried my son. I told my wife I was getting mad because my son was not getting better.

“I later learnt my wife, who had earlier noticed the boy’s condition, had told the nurse not to let me know because I wouldn’t be able to bear it. I later saw his head being opened one morning and broke down into tears.”