Ololade Adeyanju/
The Lagos State government has disclosed it would probe the allegation of negligence against a private hospital, Premier Specialist Medical Centre, Victoria Island, in the death of award-winning chef and founder of ‘I Luv Desserts’, Mrs Peju Ugboma.
The state Health Facility Monitoring and Accreditation Agency (HEFAMAA) made this known while commiserating with the deceased’s family in a statement shared on its official Twitter handle, today.
Peju reportedly died after undergoing an elective surgery for fibroids in the hospital on April 23, 2021.
The family alleged that Peju’s death on April 25 was due to negligence on the part of the hospital, despite making them pay a total of N5 million and another N1 million at Evercare Hospital, Lekki Phase 1, where she was moved to moments before she died.
According to the family, an independent autopsy carried out at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital revealed that the deceased suffered internal bleeding before she died, a development Premier Hospital negligently failed to detect.
“It was clear that Peju bled internally from Friday, after the surgery, till Sunday when she died and it is shocking to note that Premier Hospital was negligent enough not to pick this up and save her life. Peju’s tragic and unfortunate death has left behind two little heartbroken girls, a grieving husband and an aged mother and loved ones,” the family wrote in a petition against the hospital.
In its statement, the state government prayed that God would bless Peju’s soul and give the family “the fortitude to bear the irreparable loss”.
The statement notes that the Commissioner for Health, Prof Akin Abayomi, has directed HEFAMAA, being the agency charged with the responsibility of accrediting, monitoring, and inspecting all public and private health facilities in the state, to investigate the incident and establish the facts of the matter.
“We assure the family and the public that HEFAMAA will do the needful to get to the root of the matter and ensure #JusticeForPeju with a view to preventing such unfortunate incidents in the future,” the statement concludes.
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