Tragedy as Doctor Slums During Church Service Following Exhausting Surgical Marathon at LUTH

By Iyojo Ameh

A medical doctor from the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Idi-Araba, met an untimely demise during a Sunday church service, after having completed an astonishing 72-hour surgical marathon at the neurosurgery unit.

The news of this devastating loss was disclosed by the Association of Resident Doctors in a letter dated September 19, which was addressed to LUTH’s Chief Medical Director.

The letter painted a grim picture of the working conditions faced by medical practitioners within the hospital.

Titled ‘An Appeal By The House Officers Of LUTH,’ the letter stated, “We the house officers are in deep grief over the loss of our colleague, a co-House officer (Dr.

Umoh Michael), who died on September 17, 2023, after having a 72-hour call in the Neurosurgery Unit.”

Dr. Umoh Michael is reported to have been on call for an astounding 72 hours before returning home on Sunday morning, apparently with the intention of attending a church service. Tragically, he collapsed in the United Evangelical Church at around 11 a.m.

The letter further highlighted the arduous working conditions faced by the hospital’s doctors, including alleged bullying by senior colleagues, grueling call hours without breaks, and a lack of essential amenities such as food and adequate accommodation.

In their demands, the house officers called for a revision of working hours, stating, “house officers who did call the previous day should be allowed either half a day the next day or allowed to resume work by midday the following day.” They also stressed that “house officers should not be made to work 48 hours at a stretch.”

Furthermore, they called for a review of the initial house job check-up, proposing that it should be free or significantly subsidized for house officers. The letter concluded by urging senior colleagues to make the working environment more conducive and emphasized that house officers should not be burdened with tasks typically handled by support staff or patient relatives.

This tragic incident sheds light on the challenging conditions faced by medical professionals in their relentless efforts to save lives, raising important questions about the need for reform in the healthcare sector to ensure the well-being of doctors and the quality of care they provide.