The Ogun State Government has debunked the claim that a woman died within the premises of its primary health center at Joju area in Ado-Odo/Ota Local Government as a result neglect and denial of access to medical facilities and care services.
A relation of a woman identified as Rose who was reported dead around the premises of the health center had accused the health workers of sending her elder sister out of the health facility due to the suspicion of Covid-19 without attending to her until she died.
In a release by the Commissioner for Health, Dr. Tomi Coker, said the thorough investigation carried out by the Ministry into the incident revealed that the allegations were borne out of gross misinformation and misrepresentation of facts and at best speculative.
According to Dr. Coker, the deceased did not present herself for treatment at the facility as alleged and as such, it could not have been possible to turn her back.
“The accurate details of events was that state health officials who were on duty at the PHC sighted the woman outside the premises and sensed that she looked ill and in need of care.
“They immediately got set to help transfer the deceased to the State Hospital, since the role of PHCs was basic preventative care support, not curative healthcare delivery which is where full medicare services could have been offered to the deceased.
“It was the moment whilst organising a suitable transportation to the State Hospital that the deceased passed away and not within the PHC premises. She was never that she was turned away as wrongly reported,” Dr. Coker said.
Commiserating with the family of the deceased, the Commissioner reiterated the utmost commitment of the Governor Dapo Abiodun- led administration to the welfare and healthcare of every Ogun State indigene and resident alike.
Dr. Coker emphasised that healthcare workers across Ogun State are utmost professionals, who have been trained to deliver compassionate care.
She also commended media practitioners across all channels for supporting the efforts of the Ministry of Health in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, urging the pressmen to exercise restraints in the way news are broken by carrying out due diligence to ascertain the facts surrounding such sensitive events.
