ATBUTH rejection: Family of dead 10-year-old boy kicks, demand justice

Following alleged rejection of a 10-year-old boy, Isma’il Ibrahim who was knocked down by a car at Buzaye village along Bauchi-Jos road by the Doctor and other medical workers on duty at the Trauma Centre of Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University Teaching Hospital (ATBUTH) which led to his death, his immediate family members have condemned the act of the Doctor describing it as a deliberate act which must be punished.

Bauchi State sector command of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), which briefed the Press of the accident last Wednesday stated that the accident occurred on Tuesday, January 7th at about 5.30 pm.

Head of Operations of the Bauchi State Sector Command of the FRSC, Ibrahim Abubakar, said that the driver of a Sharon who was heading to Bauchi from Jos, tried to avoid a motorcyclist who wrongly crossed the road, lost control and knocked down the boy and others who were by the road side saying, “On Tuesday 7th January, 2020, we got a report that there was a fatal crash at Buzaye, along Bauchi-Jos highway, at about 5.30pm”.

Ibrahim Abubakar added that, “The accident involved a Sharon Commercial Bus with number plate SHD 359 XA, which was driven by one Abba Mohammed and a motorcyclist in that village. The Sharon driver was heading to Bauchi and the motorcyclist wrongly entered the road and he (Abba Mohammed) tried to avoid hitting him, but unfortunately, he lost control and hit some people who were by the other side of the road. Four males and two male children were injured in the crash.”

He added that “it was as a result of that accident that a male child lost his life when he was taken to the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University Teaching Hospital, Bauchi for treatment.”

When asked to state exactly what happened that led to the death of the boy, Ibrahim Abubakar who is the Deputy Corps Commander, confirmed that the deceased and other victims were taken to the hospital but they were not accepted by the medical personnel on duty.

“How we operate is that whenever there is an accident and we are called, we go there to rescue the victims and take them to the hospital for medical attention since we are not doctors.

He further explained that, ” So on that day, the 7th January, 2020, after we were called and we got to the scene, we took the six injured to the ATBUTH Trauma Center here in Bauchi. We got there and the Doctors were supposed to receive the patients from us (FRSC), but they refused and this led to the death of one of the victims, a male child.”

While speaking in an interview with a group of Newsmen at the Teaching Hospital late Wednesday evening, an uncle of the deceased, Nafiyu Haladu Buzaye, a resident of Buzaye village described the action of the doctor as very disturbing and unfortunate.

He said: “There was a fatal crash today (Wednesday) which led to the loss of a life and properties. When the accident happened, we called the Federal Road Safety Officials who are stationed in the same Buzaye and they rushed to the scene and together with them we took the victims to the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University Teaching Hospital in Bauchi for treatment”.

The annoyed uncle of the deceased boy said that, “They got there before me since I also took some of the injured in my car, and when I got there, I discovered that they (accident victims) were still inside the car. I met them telling the doctor that they had brought some accident victims but he didn’t listen to them”.

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Haladu Buzaye added that, “There was a little situation there that almost caused friction because the patients were refused admission in the hospital. We even asked that doctor that if it were to have been his son, would he have rejected him? But surprisingly, he told us that he doesn’t care that if the boy would die, he should die, he doesn’t care. We were there dragging with them to accept the boy but they refused to do so and the boy died there in the car.”

When asked if the boy was rejected because there was no space to keep the boy, he said, “it wasn’t that there was no space, the treatment room was empty with nobody there. And we didn’t even meet him treating any patient, he was just sitting down when we met him there.”

He also said that the doctor didn’t give them any convincing reason that made him to refuse to accept the patients saying, “the impression he gave us was that he wasn’t there to work to save lives but for something different, and that nobody can make him do what he doesn’t want to do or to protect his own interests.”

The deceased uncle added that, “the boy has died just like the doctor earlier said that if he dies, it wasn’t his business and I remember telling him that it was God that gave him to us and if he dies, the same God will give us another one.”

A resident of Bauchi, Nasiru Chigari, who was an eyewitness of the rejection of the accident victims by the doctor condemned the act describing it as “inhumane and most unfortunate.”

He claimed that for about 40 minutes, they and the FRSC officials tried to make the doctor accept and treat the boy but he refused with no tangible reason for his refusal.

Nasiru Chigari added that, “The Road Safety tried their best and took those who had that the accident to the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University Teaching Hospital, Bauchi for treatment. But what is surprising is that when they brought him here and spoke with one of the doctors on duty, he refused to accept them and showed them that they are not in the position to teach him his work. He told the FRSC that they have their own principles”.

“It was as a result of that delay of refusing to accept the injured that led to that boy’s death. They were there for exactly 40 mins but that doctor refused to accept them, what kind of wickedness is that. I totally condemn the attitude of this doctor which caused the death of this boy. How can you refuse to accept a patient brought to you for 40 mins? He didn’t even give any reason for his refusal to accept the victims. He said it is what he wants that he does, he also said that nobody can force him to do anything different from what he wants to do,” he stated.

Asked what has happened to the boy, Chigari said: ” the boy is inside that car, as you can see, lying dead. By implication, the management of Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Bauchi, are to be held responsible for the death of this boy because they killed him since the doctor is part of the management”.

He lamented that: “since I was born, I have never seen this kind of inhumane treatment like this. I also I have a patient upstairs, when I went there and asked them the last time the doctor attended to them, they said it was since morning.”

He called on the Federal Ministry of Health, to as a matter of importance and urgency, set up a committee to investigate this inhumane treatment of this doctor stressing that “they should punish him and they should made him to pay for the death of this boy because he killed him.”

When contacted, the Chief Medical Director of the Hospital, Dr Alkali Mohammed confirmed to newsmen in a phone interview that he received a report that a patient brought to the Centre was rejected by the Doctor on duty leading to his death.

He said that he has immediately constituted a committee to investigate the allegation assuring that anyone found culpable will be dealt with in accordance with the code of conduct of the medical profession.

Alkali Mohammed who, however, agreed that the Center is no longer big enough to contain the flow of patients on a daily basis, disclosed that efforts are being made to have another centre that will complement the present one advising however that other hospitals in the state should expand their trauma and emergency centres in order to complement that of ATBUTH.

He said: “You will recall that I have given a standing directive that on no condition must a patient turned back medical personnel in the hospital without offering at least first aid in order to save the life of the victim, get him or her stabilized before sending to another facility, ours is to save life.”