By Tina Agosi Todo, Calabar
Vice Chancellor of University of Calabar (UNICAL), Prof. Florence Obi, has ordered investigation into the death of a 300-level student of the Department of Library Science and Information.
The deceased, Miss Precious Agini, died on Saturday, and her death sparked a protest by students at the university. According to an eyewitness, who spoke on condition of anonymity, before her death, the deceased visited the school’s medical centre, but was asked by a nurse to pay N200 to open a file before she could be treated.
She said: “I was at the medical centre this morning [Saturday] when it happened. What I can say is that the UNICAL medical centre is a glorified chemist shop! Precious came in with severe abdominal pains but the staff at the medical centre insisted she must pay N200 to open a file before anything could be done.
“The nonchalant attitude of the health workers in the Medical Centre is becoming very unbecoming! This is not the first time we have lost a student to their inefficiency. Imagine the nurse saying the girl faked the pain to get attention. It was this same nurse that insisted on opening a file.”
“Last year, a PhD student died due to a complication of appendicitis that was mismanaged in the same medical centre.”
Meanwhile, the VC, through the Registrar of the University, Mr. Gabriel Egbe, has issued a statement directing the medical board of the institution to urgently conduct a thorough investigation into the circumstances leading to the death of Agini.
The university said in a statement: “The Medical Board is to investigate the circumstances surrounding the deceased admission at the University Medical Centre, determine if the death could have been prevented, and examine the roles played by the individual staff of the Medical Centre in managing the patient.”
Source: The Guardian
