The private hospital in Lagos where Abba Kyari, the Chief of Staff to President Muhammadu Buhari died, is a government-accredited facility, Professor Akin Abayomi, the Lagos State Commissioner for Health, has disclosed.
Up till his death, the hospital where the late aide to the president was being treated as shrouded in secrecy, with no body in government offering any insight.
In other jurisdictions, especially in advanced countries like UK and US, their authorities usually offered details about the hospitalization of the peeople serving in government.
In the UK, the Prime Minister Boris Johnson openly announced hen he checked into a public hospital for treatment for coronavirus infection.
Channels Tv reports that in a series of tweets on Saturday, Professor Abayomi said First Cardiology Consultants, Ikoyi, where Mr Kyari was being treated for COVID-19 infection is a biosecurity-compliant COVID-19 facility accredited by the Health Facility Management and Accreditation Agency of the Lagos State Ministry of Health.
“As a basis for accreditation, First Cardiology Consultants established a separate specialist wing with staff dedicated to the treatment of complicated cases of #COVID-19, under the supervision of the Lagos State #COVID-19 emergency response team,” th commissioner a outed to have said.
Following the death of Mr. Kyari on Friday, there have been claims that he flouted government health officials’ recommendations by treating himself in a private facility.
Channels Tv further reports that on Friday, Osagie Ehanire, the Minister of Health, said the federal government had not accredited any private hospital to treat COVID-19 patients.
While speaking during the briefing by Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19 in Abuja, the minister noted that although some private hospitals have shown interest to treat the virus, none have met the criteria to receive approval yet.
“No accredited private hospital has been given approval in Abuja. Lagos is looking at some accredited hospitals. There’s one large hospital in Lagos that has called me and said they want to become a coronavirus treatment centre.
“The structure of the hospital is that they are ready to remove all present patients they have and do nothing but Coronavirus treatment. That would be good because they don’t stand the chance of cross-infection.
“But, at the moment, there is no hospital that has met the criteria yet,” he said.
