Stakeholders Await Autopsy Report On Doctor Who Died After Alleged 72-hour Duty

The management of the Rivers State University Teaching Hospital (RSUTH), the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), the National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) and others are eager to see the autopsy conducted on the corpse of the late Dr. Femi Rotifa, who died after working for 72 hours.

The stakeholders’ interest in the report came to the fore last Friday when the deceased was buried.

Rotifa was 28 years old when the sad incident occurred. He was buried at the Port Harcourt Cemetery as colleagues, relatives and friends mourned him.

Rotifa died after allegedly spending about 72 hours on call duty at the Emergency Room of RSUTH in Port Harcourt, the state capital.

He was said to have retreated to the call room to rest, where he collapsed and passed on.

It was gathered that the deceased, who was also a former president of the Port Harcourt University Medical Students’ Association (PUMSA), was registered with the United Kingdom’s General Medical Council, awaiting placement abroad.

Meanwhile, the RSUTH management has said it had already concluded arrangements for the conduct of an autopsy on Rotifa ahead of his burial last Friday.

Speaking with LEADERSHIP in Port Harcourt, the RSUTH chief medical director, Professor Chizindu Alikor, said the hospital decided not to issue any statement on the incident as a mark of respect for the deceased.

Alikor said: “Well, I wouldn’t make any press release because we have to respect our dead colleague. We also have to respect and stay together with his grieving family. There is an autopsy plan, so I wouldn’t start commenting pre-autopsy.

“Generally, we respect the family and our dead colleague. As a senior medical person and medical director of the hospital, I can’t go issuing press releases even though several persons have requested and pushed for it.

“We have done preliminary investigations, but we want to respect our dead young colleague and also support the family in this trying time. Since there is an autopsy being planned in a few days, it will not be right for me at my level of leadership to join in all the press releases flying on social media,” he said.