Kogi State Government has assured patients in critical condition of available health services at the state-owned specialist hospital.
The state government gave the assurance to patients who are denied medical attention at the Federal Medical Centre Lokoja in a statement issued by the Commissioner for Information and Communication in Lokoja on Wednesday.
Reacting to the attack on FMC Lokoja by unknown hoodlums on Wednesday, the state government said it will carry out further investigations to ascertain the remote causes of the breach of peace.
The Commissioner said preliminary findings revealed that the violence ensued when relations of patients in the medical facility protested against the failure of the management of the hospital to attend to them.
“Many people in the Emergency Ward were left unattended to and a mother delivered at the gate of the hospital. That generated a lot of public tension in the state. Tension started building since yesterday when patients and their relatives learnt of a plan by the medical staff to stage a protest today, seeking protection from Covid-19.
“We urge the people of the state to remain calm as government will ensure maintenance of law and order.
“We also sue for calm and urge medical authorities to remain committed to their medical profession and responsibilities as government will protect them in order to give them the confidence to deliver,” he said.
He warned that healthcare management must never be politicized.
