Five months have passed since the tragic elevator accident claimed the life of House Officer Dr. Vwaere Diaso at the General Hospital in Odan, Lagos, yet the equipment remains unreplaced.

The incident, reported by The PUNCH, occurred when the elevator plummeted from the 10th floor to the ground, resulting in the death of Diaso at the 131-year-old hospital.

An associate of the deceased, who visited the site of the accident in August 2023, shared that the hospital management was aware of the elevator's poor condition. "The elevator has stopped on multiple occasions while we were inside. There's been no maintenance," the colleague lamented.

Details from the state government's panel investigating the incident revealed that although the doctor was not immediately killed in the crash, he was trapped within the damaged elevator for an hour before being rescued and given medical attention.

The government took action by dismissing and blacklisting the facility managers, while also suspending the General Manager of the Lagos State Infrastructure and Asset Management Agency, Adenike Adekanbi. Shortly after the doctor's burial, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu expressed on Instagram that he had spoken to house officers at the hospital and assured them of the government's commitment to address their needs.

However, a recent visit by a correspondent to the 10-story doctors' residence disclosed that for five months, doctors were compelled to use the stairs as a new elevator had not been installed. The elevator's exit area was cordoned off with a three-piece black marine construction board, displaying a notice stating, "Restricted area, construction site. No unauthorized access," among other warnings and symbols.

When approached for comment, both the state's Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Gbenga Omotoso, and the Permanent Secretary for the Ministry of Health, Olusegun Ogboye, reiterated that the contract for elevator replacement and building renovation had already been awarded to contractors.

Read more; https://punchng.com/lagos-hospital-elevator-still-unreplaced-five-months-after-killing-officer/