COVID-19: UITH Isolates 28 Staff, Suspends Prof A. K. Salami Over Death Of Patient

The University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital (UITH) on Tuesday placed over 28 medical staff that had contact with the deceased suspected COVID-19 patient on self-isolation.

Two cases of COVID-19 were recorded in Kwara State on Monday night. One of the patients was the wife of the UITH patient, a UK returnee, who died last Thursday in UITH and the other was another UK returnee.

”The institution said it is also working with the Kwara State Government Technical Committee on COVID-19 to contact-trace all that attended to the suspected patient.

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“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 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 1, 2020.

“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 belaboring 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,” he said.

He revealed that the management of the hospital had placed a senior consultant, Prof A. K. Salami, on immediate suspension over his unethical conduct admission, management and release of the corpse of suspected COVID-19 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 said that the institution had set up an investigation committee to determine the culpability or otherwise of Prof Salami.

“This committee is to submit its report within a week from the date of their first sitting,” he said.