REVEALED: Lagos hospital ‘forcefully’ stopped Ebola victim from travelling to Calabar
But for the insistence of the management of First Consultant Medical Centre, Lagos, Mr. Patrick Sawyer ─ the Liberian-American who brought the Ebola virus to Nigeria ─ would have forcefully discharged himself and travelled to Calabar, Cross River State, four days before his death.
Also, an official of the Liberian embassy in Nigeria reportedly called the hospital several times, putting pressure on them to discharge Sawyer because he had “an important meeting to attend in Calabar”.
“It got to a stage, the official started insulting us. All manner of insult and threatening language,” a senior member of the hospital staff told TheCable, revealing that they wondered if the allowance to be paid to Sawyer for attending the meeting was more important than his health.
Sawyer (pictured) would “definitely” have infected more Nigerians had the hospital not insisted on carrying out further checks on him, the source said.
He was initially tested for malaria and HIV, but both were negative.
Although he was in pains and “clearly not in good condition”, he told the management of the hospital to let him go to Calabar.
“He was a bit restless but we told him we needed to run other tests. It was in the process we discovered he had Ebola,” the source told TheCable.
Sawyer, a consultant with the Liberian ministry of finance, arrived Lagos on July 20 on his way to an ECOWAS event in Calabar when he collapsed and was taken to the hospital.
Reports are now suggesting that he knew he had contracted the virus before coming to Nigeria, judging by his “strange conduct” at the Monrovia airport said to have been caught on CCTV.
His sister had died from the virus and there are reports that he made contact with her.
The sister’s husband had fled his home out of fear of being infected.
Sawyer died on July 24 while one of the nurses who attended to him has also died from the virus, with five other persons ─ including a doctor ─ also infected.
He would have made contact with more Nigerians had he travelled to Calabar and the casualty figure would probably have been higher by now.
The hospital has done well so far. Let’s hope the govt will compensate them cos this episode is going to cost them their livelihood. With all sincere hands on the deck this disease shall be curtailed.
Revenge for Charlie tailor
That hospital should really been commended and if possible compensated.Nigeria would have been doomed.
The Hospital staff did a great job…but for their very professional conduct, there is no telling what the situation would’ve been today had the patient been allowed to leave the Hospital.
Kudos to the Hospital Staff…..
i hope Nigerian Government has banned all land, sea and air transportation to and from Liberia; as well as the Airline that transported this individual to Nigeria. This act by Mr Sawyer, is obviously a suicde mission, and the Liberian Government should bear some responsibility, because they knew their citizen had ebola virus.
The only competition that the federal government can give that will be worthwhile is to ensure that the staff of the hospital who have contracted the virus get treatment at all cost. They should not be left to die in isolation. May God have mercy on Nigeria and its citizens iJN
please how can i join team that are taking care of EBOLA VICTIM in Yaba hospital