Euracare, Adichie: Let Investigation Reveal The Fact

Again, the country’s health sector is in the eye of the storm, with allegations of negligence, unprofessionalism, and malfeasance dogging its personnel.

Nigerian author, Chimamanda Adichie, had accused a high-profile private hospital in Lagos, Euracare, of negligence and impropriety, leading to the death of her 21-month-old son, Nkanu Nnamdi.

According to Adichie, her son’s death was avoidable, blaming what she described as critical failures during medical procedures that ought to have been routine.

Another grieving parent, Samuel Alozie, shared videos of his tragic experience involving his nine-month-old twin sons, Timothy and Testimony Alozie.

He said they died shortly after vaccination at a primary healthcare centre in Lagos State.

Just barely a week after, a mother of five, Aishatu Umar, died in Kano following alleged surgical negligence at the Abubakar Imam Urology Centre. Those deaths, which have expectedly sparked public outrage, with renewed calls for accountability in the nation’s healthcare system, took place in the country’s private and public hospitals.

Sadly, these cases are not isolated but have only gained traction because of the personalities involved. Curiously, the World Health Organisation (WHO) admitted that medical errors, like wrong-site surgery or medication mistakes, are common, causing millions of preventable deaths and high costs, often due to systemic failures.

However, medical negligence occurs when a provider deviates from the accepted standard of care (e.g., forgetting to sterilise instruments), leading to harm, making errors a major patient safety issue that is addressed through system-based solutions rather than just blaming individuals.

These cases have prompted calls from the former President of the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA), Dr Olisa Agbakoba (SAN), and other lawyers in the country for the strengthening of Nigeria’s regulatory frameworks, enhancing professional accountability, and ensuring that victims of malpractice have access to justice.

He described Chimamanda’s son’s death as “another instance reflecting the unacceptable incompetence present in some Nigerian healthcare facilities.”

The senior lawyer said that he had overseen more than 50 similar cases over the past two years

This newspaper recognises that there’s a regulatory council which oversees the conduct and professionalism of doctors and dentists in the country – the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria ( MDCN).

One of the Council’s statutory obligations and functions is to improve, renew and update the skills and abilities of all doctors to ensure that appropriate and high-quality health services are rendered to patients through its Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Programme,

But poor healthcare outcomes, as evidenced by Nigeria’s low indices and fatalities, reflect the quality of training delivered by the council.

In the case of Chimamanda’s son, the Lagos State government has ordered the Health Facility Monitoring and Accreditation Agency (HEFAMAA) to launch an immediate, independent, and transparent investigation into the circumstances surrounding the death of the author’s son.

HEFAMAA stated that it would collaborate closely with all concerned to get to the root of the matter. To this end, HEFAMAA, the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN), and Lagos State authorities are currently conducting investigations into the case, and the hospital is believed to have fully complied with all regulatory bodies, providing all requested information and documentation.

It is pertinent to emphasise that ethics and regulations exist across all professions, without which service delivery could be jeopardised. We also note that the primary law governing medical practice in Nigeria dates back to 1963, underscoring the urgent need to update and strengthen the country’s medical regulatory framework.

In the present circumstance, we are persuaded to argue that a coroner’s inquest is compelling, as an autopsy is essential in determining key medical facts, including whether there was an overdose of sedatives.

In cases of medical negligence, it is also advisable to conduct a post-mortem examination to ensure conclusions are based on medical evidence rather than speculation.

Euracare claims to be one of the few hospitals in Nigeria with advanced equipment and specialised capacity of this nature.  This needs to be confirmed as part of the investigation. This is even as the hospital is conducting its own investigation to determine what actually happened, to protect its credibility.

It is essential to point out that WHO, in its expert opinion as stated earlier, believes that tragic medical outcomes also occur in advanced healthcare systems globally, and not all medical complications or deaths are avoidable.

In the meantime, we advise against a media trial, as it may negatively affect the investigation. The appropriate thing to do, in cases involving complex medical issues, is to focus on allowing professional investigations and reports to establish the facts.