Covid-19: UITH places Prof. Salami on indefinite suspension

By Steve Oni, Ilorin

Authorities of the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital (UITH) have disclosed that they had placed no fewer than 28 medical staff that had contact with the deceased suspected COVID-19 patient on self-isolation.

Kwara state on Monday recorded two cases of COVID-19 allegedly caused by their contact with a suspected late coronavirus patient.

Chief Medical Director (CMD) of the hospital, Prof Abdullah Yusuf, also told reporters in Ilorin, the state capital, that the management had ordered the immediate suspension of one Prof. Alakija Salami for alleged unethical conduct.

He said: “The institution is also working with the Kwara state government Technical Committee on COVID-19 to contact-trace all that had contact with the deceased patient.

“Already, all UITH staff with close contact with the deceased patient on the night of his admission, or his corpse have been ordered to proceed on self isolation. Besides, the ‘A and E’ ward and the ambulance used to convey his corpse to Offa had been promptly fumigated.

“With all these levels of preparedness and precautionary measures, we were taken aback to discover how a very Senior Consultant of this hospital had facilitated the admission of a suspected case of COVID-19 at the Accident and Emergency section of the hospital on the night of Wednesday, April 1st 2020.

“We were fed with the information of a suspected Food Poisoning as the cause of the death of the patient until we got another lead to the likely cause of the death of the said patient. In fact, it was shocking to us that the wife of the deceased patient had tested positive for the deadly virus as announced on Monday by the kwara State Covid-19 Technical committee.

“The management of the hospital has placed Prof A. K. Salami on immediate suspension as a senior consultant in this hospital bordering on his unethical conduct in the admission, management and eventual release of the corpse of the suspected Covid -19 patient who died in the hospital on the 2nd of April, 2020.”

He said the institution had set up an investigation committee to determine the culpability or otherwise of Prof Salami, adding that the committee had been given one week to submit its report.