The University of Calabar has suspended four staff members in the institution’s medical centre over the death of a student, Precious Agindi.
Agindi, a third-year student of the institution at the Department of Library and Information Science died on January 28 at the institution’s medical centre.
Her death drew protest from the students who accused the medical staff on duty of causing her demise, allegedly from ruptured appendicitis, prompting the school authorities to launch an investigation into the circumstances surrounding her demise.
The result found late Precious’ death was not from appendicitis. It however, pronounced the nurses guilty of not showing care, according to the university’s Vice Chancellor, Prof. Florence Obi, on Tuesday while addressing newsmen.
Her words:”For emphasis, let me categorically state that the death of Precious Agindi had nothing to do with the rumoured ruptured appendicitis as her appendix was found at autopsy to be healthy, not inflamed and intact.
“This regrettable incident sparked very strong emotions, students’ demonstrations on that fateful day and a lot of misinformation and outright falsehood peddled by ill-informed and mischievous people, both within and outside the campus.
“Yesterday, in the presence of the representatives of the family, the Benue and Tiv Community in the university, SUG officials, members of the Panel of Inquiry, and management received the autopsy and the panel of inquiry reports.”
Continued, “Management has, therefore, decided to place all the staff members on duty on a three-month suspension for lack of empathy and psychological support and especially for demanding money for card against the medical centre’s policy of attending to patients in critical condition first.
“The above investigation has revealed that the patient was brought to the medical centre critically ill and her eventual death shortly after arrival was not as a result of professional negligence by staff members of the medical centre.
“Also, there is an established clinical condition as the cause of death which in deferment to the family and in respect to the dead we do not wish to reveal.
“Yet all sorts of lies have been told both online and offline to batter the image of the university and instigate unrest among the students.”
