How I was robbed at Lagos State teaching Hospital Ikeja (LASUTH)

By Adeola Ajayi 

My Dad is on admission and was taken to the theatre for emergency attention around 10:30pm‎ on 29th June, 2016 and we returned to male surgical Ward B around 1:15a:m the following morning(30th, June,2016), but he was taken to another room ( 2rooms away from the private room) within the same ward for observation.

The nurses left us for their station exactly 1:53am,so I went to keep my handbag phones and jewellery in the private room since we are not the only one in the observation room, plugged one one the phones and kept the other 2phones on the fridge,with my wireless bluetooth headset, convertible car charger ,power bank and car key.

I locked the door and kept the key in my pocket and went back to where my dad was, grabbed 2 chairs,I sat on one and hung my legs on the other‎ trying catch some sleep. After some minutes, I noticed a movement in the room, I opened my eyes and discovered it was the nurse that came to check the drip. I got up immediately the nurse stepped out of the observation room to pick my phones to check the time and call my sister's for update.

  Alas! At exactly 2:23am,I opened the door to grab my phones and wireless, but it was no where to be found, I. Quickly looked towards the chair where I kept my handbag and duvet, I realised they've scattered the place and kept some nylon bag on the chair,I ran out of the room to the nurse station, because I was not too sure if the thief is hiding in the toilet. The nurses on duty entered with me and they saw the foot steps on the bed with sand on the bed, and they just said they've burgled the room. The male nurse moved towards the window asking "How come" when he pulled the curtain we saw that the window was forced open and they tore the net.

The thief went with my phones (the two kept on the fridge),my wireless Bluetooth headset, my wristwatch, earrings, power bank, convertible car charger and N70,000 plus other small money in my wallet and inside the handbag, meant for purchase of medications and settling of bills (Hard fetched money), adding more to the pains of having my dearest dad on sick bed. I just hope you understand my pains and my present situation. As we will still have to source for money to buy medications for dad’s treatment, I have to pay for my official line.

 This is beyond robbery case, it is burglary and theft today, and it could be assassination case tomorrow!!! This can happen to anybody.

 ‎ I have reported this case officially, with a hand written letter address to the Chief medical Director (CMD) and CSO also came to snap the scene and sent his representative a woman to collect his copy of the letter,also doctors and some nurses came to also visit the scene, saying " they are not even safe" but I was told that the case will die a natural death as they will not refund all that was stolen.( That statement got me angry,because this is a life-threatening issue).

 It is disheartening that this happened in hospital environment, where we have patients in critical conditions, patient relatives who are worked up running from pillar to post to settle bills and buy medications, the nurses and doctors working hard to save lives.

 I have also written a mail that I want to forward to the office of the state Governor ( Governor Akinwunmi Ambode),but since I cannot lay hold on his contact easily,I clicked on pictures on his instagram page and left a message there.See below part of the content of the letter to the state governor "‎it is the duty of the hospital management/state Government to save lives, which was the main reason for  commissioning 20 mobile care units and 26 transport ambulances on the 31st of August 2015 to boost the health sector and fulfill your administration’s commitment to bring quality healthcare services closer to the people particularly during emergency situations, but it is also important to make the hospital environment safe for patients, their relatives and employees of the hospital (LASUTH in particular).

  Our able governor, please give this an urgent attention and send RRS/patrol team to the hospital and also lighten-up the environment to make the Patients, their relatives and employees of the hospital safe.The environment is too dark, given the thieves opportunity to hide. The environment is so porous! If this is not well addressed, the thieves will go to an amazing length to undermine and sabotage all your effort to take control of health and security sector.

Kindly use your good office to save lives and treat this case with urgency".

     I have not gotten over the shock and cannot enter the room alone till now.

There is need for urgent intervention, please help get this information the state Governor.