How Uncertified Contractor Installed Lagos Hospital Elevator That Killed Female Doctor

The Chairman, Medical Guild, Dr Sa’eid Ahmad, has said findings by the investigative panel on the cause of death of Dr Diaso Vwaere revealed that the malfunctioned elevator was installed by a contractor who did not have elevator system certification.

Ahmad, who made the revelation during a news conference to give an update on the probe of the circumstances that led to Vwaere’s death, said the elevator failed to work during its inauguration in June 2021.

 

SaharaReporters had on Wednesday reported that the Lagos State government set up an inquiry team to investigate the elevator accident that killed Diaso.

 

SaharaReporters also reported that the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) in Lagos State announced an indefinite strike, after instructing all the doctors working in the three government hospitals on the Lagos Island to down tools in protest of the death of Diaso.

 

Tens of House Officers at the Lagos State General Hospital, Odan, Lagos Island had also protested against the death of Diaso, who reportedly fell to her death from an elevator.

 

It was earlier reported on Wednesday that the female doctor died in a faulty elevator.

She died two weeks before the completion of her housemanship in a faulty elevator at General Hospital, Odan, Lagos Island.

Briefing the press on the findings by the panel, Dr Ahmad said the contractor attributed the elevator’s failure to work to inadequate power supply from the generator hired for the inauguration.

“Regular maintenance was supposed to be done every four weeks on the elevator for optimum performance,” the News Agency of Nigeria reports.

Ahmad said the contractor, installers, and other persons involved in the installation he described as shoddy should be found culpable and made to face the law.

He also noted that a series of infrastructural challenges had trailed the house officers’ quarters of the General Hospital, Odan, Lagos, since its rehabilitation in 2015 to 2016, and appealed to the state government to install a new elevator in the building by a certified installer and ensure regular maintenance.

Noting that Vwaere should be immortalised to preserve her memory and her family supported, Ahmad said the Guild would follow up on the investigation to ensure justice was served.