By Hallimah Olamide
The Medical Guild has revealed that the process of installation of the malfunctioned elevator that led to the demise of Dr Diaso Vwaere was done by a contractor who did not have an elevator system installation certification.
Medical Guild is the umbrella body of all medical doctors in the employment of the Lagos State Government.
The Chairman of Guild, Dr Sa’eid Ahmad, made the disclosure during a news conference to give update on findings of investigative panels on the cause of death of Vwaere.
Ahmad said that the contractor, Orivac Engineering, had a general engineering qualification with purported years of experience that did not include elevator installation or maintenance.
He disclosed that the elevator failed to work during its commissioning in June 2021, adding that the contractor attributed it to inadequate power supply from the generator hired for the commissioning.
According to him, there are no verifiable maintenance services provided during the first and second installation of the elevator by the installer.
“Regular maintenance was supposed to be done every four weeks on the elevator for optimum performance,” he said.
The chairman said that the contractor, installers, and other persons involved in the shoddy installation should be found culpable and made to face the law.
Ahmad noted that series of infrastructural challenges had trailed the house officers quarters of the General Hospital, Odan, Lagos, since its rehabilitation in 2015 to 2016.
He appealed to the state government to install new elevator in the building by certified installer and ensure regular maintenance.
According to him, Dr Diaso Vwaere should be immortalised to preserve her memory and her family supported.
He said that the Guild would follow up on the investigation to ensure justice was served.
Vwaere, a medical house officer, with General Hospital, Odan, Lagos, died on Aug. 1, as a result of injuries sustained when the elevator she was in crashed in the staff quarters of the hospital.
The incident angered her colleagues, who staged a peaceful protest on Aug. 2 at the hospital and also disrupted clinical services there.
The Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) on Aug. 2 directed medical doctors in three government hospitals on Lagos Island to embark on an indefinite strike over the death of Dr Vwaere.
The hospitals on indefinite strike include the General Hospital, Odan; Lagos Island Maternity Hospital and Massey Street Children’s Hospital.
NMA also directed all doctors in all the other government hospitals in the state to scale down activities as a mark of respect for their dead colleague.
It ordered that only emergency services should be rendered for the next five days at the other hospitals.