BY JUMAI NWACHUKWU
DELTA State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Joseph Onojaeme has suspended a medical doctor at the Asaba Specialist Hospital (ASH), Dr. Mark (names withheld) over an allegation of assault on a nurse, Mrs. Kuku Destiny, at the hospital.
The commissioner, who spoke in Asaba, the state capital, said the suspension, which would last for one month, was to enable a panel constituted to thoroughly look into the issue and do its job effectively.
“The Chief Medical Director briefed me about the incident, so l immediately instructed her to set up an internal panel to look into the matter. “The doctor in question has been suspended without pay for one month, pending the investigation report,” Onojaeme said.
The nurse alleged, in a trending video on social media, that the doctor hit her with a jotter and a plastic chair at the hospital over a patient folder dropped in his office.
Kuku, in the video, was seen applying a towel on a swollen part of her head, while narrating what happened.
“It was just three patients left. In the morning, Dr. Mark said he was closing by 2 o’clock, so I told Mr. Ike, who wanted me to take a folder to Dr. Mark that the doctor had closed, since it was past 2 o’clock. He then went to check if the doctor was still in office. He came back to tell me he was there, and Mr. Ike took the folder to him.
Later, Dr. Mark came to where I was and was shouting; “who brought this folder to me?” I kept quiet, and he became very angry and started raining abuses on me, insulting my father and my generation.
“He took a jotter to hit me very hard, after which he carried a plastic chair and hit it on my head. That was when I stood up to ask what I did wrong. I wanted to hit him back but I couldn’t, because the cleaners and Mr. Ike intervened. He even wanted to attack me more, but they held him off. I then went to report to my HOD. The swelling went down a little because of the ice I applied,” she said.
Effort to reach Dr. Mark to get his own account of the incident proved abortive at press time.
Meanwhile, the Chief Medical Director of the hospital, Dr. Peace Ighosewe, had declined comment on the issue. She, however, said “the hospital will make a statement on the issue very soon. You will be able to get all the information you want.”
A doctor in the employ of the state, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said it was really unfortunate that a simple matter could be allowed to degenerate.
“This is what a simple apology could have settled. I heard of the incident but I don’t know what really happened. Some said the doctor allegedly hit the nurse with a note book. But this could have been resolved with an apology,” the doctor said.
