Father withdraws boy attacked by dogs from hospital against medical advice

Omonigho Abraham, the four-year-old boy who was attacked by two German shepherd dogs in the Igando area of Lagos State, has been withdrawn from the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, Ikeja against medical advice..

Omonigho whose skull and scalp is exposed after the gruesome attack ,was on Friday last week, flown to an Indian hospital for treatment.The victim’s father, Mr. Odia,earlier complained his son’s condition had worsened due to negligence.

According to Punch, the hospital management had promised to take better care of Omonigho, adding that the state’s governor, Babatunde Fashola, had instructed that the government should bear all the cost of his treatment.

However, the Lagos State Government has said Omonigho’s withdrawal from the Burns and Plastics unit of LASUTH was against medical advice.The Commissioner for Health, Mr. Jide Idris, in a statement on Monday, said the victim’s father was “desperate” and rebuffed all explanations that the boy’s healing was a gradual process.

The statement read in part, 

“While conservative wound management was being done in the Burns and Plastic Ward in LASUTH, the Lagos State Government set plans in motion to take Omonigho abroad for further management, where all expenses incurred would be covered by the government.His parents were informed of every step of the process, and had close and continuous contact with the Ministry of Health.After a thorough search, a suitable hospital was found that would care for the young boy. The chosen facility was the RAK Hospital, Dubai, United Arab Emirate.

LASUTH established a communication channel with RAK Hospital and it was determined that Omonigho would require a meshed skin graft coverage of the exposed skull for the next phase of his management.Governor Babatunde Fashola approved the funds for the management of Omonigho, which includes traveling, feeding and accommodation at the Rak Hospital in Dubai, UAE.”

The commissioner said Omonigho’s father after agreeing to all the travel plans, suddenly announced that he would fly out his son to India.He said efforts to assist in the India trip was rejected by Odia, who insisted that the Delta State Government and the NGO had decided to bear all the cost.

Idris said report from the surgical team responsible for the victim’s treatment showed that the boy’s health might be at risk if his ongoing treatment was interrupted.

“But Odia unfortunately, took the ill-advised step to leave the facility after being thoroughly counseled by the specialist,” he added.