Eight staffers under probe over alleged neglect of accident victims – FMC Abuja

The Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Jabi, Abuja, on Monday said eight of its staff members—including four doctors, two nurses, and two attendants—are currently under investigation for alleged professional negligence.

The hospital disclosed this during a press briefing in Abuja on Monday, assuring the public that any staff member found guilty of dereliction of duty would be held accountable.

The hospital’s Head of Clinical Services, Bioku Muftau, confirmed that the accident victims allegedly abandoned by hospital personnel—featured in a viral video circulating on social media—have been treated and discharged.

Mr Muftau said the patient with a head injury, who appeared in the video and drew widespread public concern, was stabilised and discharged the same day he arrived at the facility.

PREMIUM TIMES had earlier reported that the federal government launched an investigation into the viral video showing alleged neglect of road crash victims at the hospital’s emergency unit.

The video, widely circulated on social media, captured victims of a road accident reportedly left unattended by hospital personnel after being brought in by a good Samaritan.

In the footage, the individual who transported the victims to the hospital alleged that staff refused to provide immediate medical care, with one reportedly citing a lack of gloves.

However, the video later shows some staff assisting one of the severely injured victims into the emergency ward, while other victims made their way in unaided.

The incident has sparked widespread reactions on social media, with many Nigerians expressing outrage and accusing tertiary hospitals of a pattern of medical negligence.

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Probe

Mr Muftau said findings of the investigation ordered by the Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Iziaq Salako, would be made public upon conclusion.

He also denied reports that the hospital was overwhelmed by the number of patients at the time of the incident, asserting that the facility is adequately staffed to manage patient care.

READ ALSO: FG orders probe into alleged neglect of accident victims at Abuja hospital

“In terms of being overwhelmed, this hospital is blessed with a lot of staff. As I speak with you, we have over 100 consultants in various specialties. In neurosurgery alone, the sole specialty of surgery, we have three,” he said.
FMC Jabi, considered one of the top medical facilities in the Nigerian capital has previously faced allegations of medical negligence.

In 2016, PREMIUM TIMES reported that at least three cases had been linked to suspected negligence at the facility.

The death of 29-year-old Sandra David in 2016, following complications from a gall bladder surgery at the FMC Abuja, eventually prompted an investigation by the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN).