Following the outrage on social media over the death of a popular Lagos chef due to a hospital’s alleged negligence in the course of treatments, the Lagos State Ministry of Health has ordered a full investigation.

The Lagos State Health Facility Monitoring and Accreditation Agency, in a statement on Sunday, said the order was given by the Commissioner of Health, Professor Akin Abayomi.

The statement read, “The Honorable Commissioner @LSMOH, @ProfAkinAbayomi, had directed @HEFAMMA_LASG; the agency charged with the responsibility of accrediting, monitoring, and inspecting all public and private health facilities in the State, to conduct a proper investigation on the occurrence to establish the facts of the matter and ensure #JusticeForPeju with a view to preventing such unfortunate incidents in the future.”

Recall that WUZUPNIGERIA reported that the two patients were allegedly mismanaged at Beachland Hospital, Arepo in Ogun State and Premier Specialist Medical Centre, Victoria Island, Lagos respectively, leading to their deaths.

Popular chef, Peju Ugbom, was said to have died after surgery for fibroid related ailment at the Premier Specialists after complaints of abdominal pain.

Her husband who was said to have paid made an advance payment of N1m for the surgery, an additional N1.5m for Intensive Care Unite admission after her case deteriorated and another N1m at the ICU in Evercare Hospital in Lekki Phase 1 after she was later referred for CT scan and dialysis was said to have alerted Premier’s staff to conduct a possible internal bleeding check which they refused.

Following her death, the family released a public statement to explain the circumstances surrounding the pastry chef’s death, leading to outrage on social media.

However, when contacted by The PUNCH, a representative of the hospital identified as  Eghonghon Olawepo-Adeoti (Dr Onyebuchi Nse) by Truecaller, said, “I am sorry, I have no comment in respect of that particular incident. I have no information for you. I do not have any information to discuss with you on that.”

Subsequently, the second victim, Omolara Omoyajuwolo, was a call centre agent of the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) who was said to have been treated for peptic ulcer and malaria only to return with breathing difficulty.

Omoyajuwolo was then referred to Lagos State Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) allegedly without a nurse, ambulance, and oxygen to aid her during transit. Sadly, she passed before arriving at the hospital.

The news of her demise has left Nigerians raking and lamenting the poor state of the country’s healthcare system as well as personnel’s negligence.

However,  the Chief Medical Director of Beachland Specialist Hospital on Sunday, Dr Abdul-Lateef Ademola revealed why they left her without oxygen after referring her to LASUTH.

“After receiving treatment for ulcer and malaria, she returned home healthy. When she returned with difficulty in breathing, she was placed on oxygen and given medication. The persistent breathing difficulty indicated that ulcer wasn’t the problem.

“We referred her to LASUTH for specialist care immediately and we confirmed that she might be having myocardial infarction or pulmonary embolism. Our ambulance driver was unreachable; so, her friend arranged an alternative means of transportation.

“We couldn’t let them go with the oxygen because we had already exhausted our oxygen while treating her. We await an autopsy report.”

At the time of this report, WUZUPNIGERIA is yet to get a response from the number one witness who happened to be the victim’s friend.