Dr Umoh Michael, a medical practitioner at Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Idi-Araba, died tragically after working a 72-hour shift in the neurosurgery unit.
This unfortunate disclosure was made by the Association of Resident Doctors in a letter dated September 19, sent to LUTH’s main medical director.
The doctors accused their senior colleagues in the letter, headlined ‘An Appeal By The House Officers Of LUTH,’ of pressuring them, imposing long call hours without breaks, and neglecting to provide appropriate food and suitable accommodation.
The letter reads in part,
“We the house officers are in deep grief over the loss of our colleague, a co-House officer (Dr Umoh Michael) who died on 17th September, 2023, after having a 72hrs call in Neurosurgery Unit. He is said to have been on call 72hrs before arriving home on Sunday morning to get set for church service, reaching his worship center (United Evangelical Church) where he slumped in the church at about 11am.
His roommate attested to the fact that Umoh Michael has barely slept in their apartment over the past one week as he was always on call or the day he returns home is around 3am after surgeries and other activities in Neurosurgery Unit.”
They demanded that “house officers who did call the previous day, should be allowed either half day the next day or allowed to resume work by midday the following day” and that “house officers should not be made to work 48hrs at stretch.”
“The compulsory House check at the beginning of House job should be free or grossly subsidized for House officers. Our senior colleagues (senior registers and registrars) should make the work environmentally friendly for us; House officers should not do work of potters, nurses or patient relatives,” the letter added.
Meanwhile, the hospital is yet to comment on the tragic development.
See the letter below,
Reactions from social media users
