Lagos State commissioner of police, Imohimi Edgal once launched a campaign appealing to doctors to always treat patients with gunshot wounds.
A woman shot by robbers when she returned home in Lagos in the early hours of January 1st bled to death after she was allegedly refused treatment by the hospital she was rushed to.
Account of the incident was shared on Twitter by a user who claimed to be a friend of the affected family, on the handle, @miss_dammie.
According to the Twitter post, the robbers attacked the victim’s house in Ogba area of Lagos shortly after she returned with her family from the crossover service held at her church to usher in the new year.
But the hospital refused to attend to her on the ground that her relations did not come with a police report thus leaving her to bleed to death.
The post was however silent on the victim’s identity and the name of the hospital.
In his reaction, spokesman of the Lagos State police command, CSP Chike Oti told NewsmakersNG that the command had done a lot to sensitise medical practitioners on the need to attend to gunshot victims without demanding a police report.
He said the command also held a series of meetings with stakeholders including the leadership of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) over the issue.
According to him, the appropriate thing for any hospital is to provide the victim with necessary treatment while notifying the nearest police station or calling any of the hotlines provided by the command to report the development.
He reiterated the fact that refusal to attend to a gunshot victim by any medical practitioner is a criminal offence with a clearly stipulated penalty.
He, however, did not say if the command would take any step to ensure the hospital involved in the current case is duly penalised.
