Dr Ibrahim Wada, Chief Medical Advisor of Garki Hospital, Abuja, said on Friday that the hospital adopted precautionary measures after a patient died from viral infection at the facility on Thursday.
Wada said in a telephone interview in Abuja, following a rumour that the hospital had been closed over the death of a suspected Ebola virus infected person.
The patient was reported to have died within four hours after arrival at the hospital.
“The hospital is not closed down as people are insinuating; a man only came in sick and within few hours he died from some complications. That is all I can tell you.
“We were then advised by experts to take his samples for laboratory test just for precaution sake and the result is not out.
“You know we are in an epidemic era, no patient died of Ebola at the hospital, though the patient has passed on, he came with his own symptoms.
“Because of the period that we are in, we needed to be cautious because prevention is better than cure,’’ he said.
Wada said “the hospital is still functioning, but to safeguard the lives of the health workers, the management instituted precautionary measures to handle patients in the hospital.’’
Speaking on the closure of the Accident and Emergency Unit, he said it was part of the precautionary measures being taken by the hospital management.
When asked why all the health workers were seen wearing hand gloves and face masks, he said they were over reacting and had been cautioned.
“We have been having daily meetings on how to take precautionary measures; it is only the doctors and nurses working closely with patients that required the use of masks and gloves,’’ he said. (NAN)
