By Mohammed Baba Busu
Niger State Health Team has begun swift action to save the lives of many victims of the recent petro tanker fire at Dikko Junction in Gurara Local Government Area of the state.
This followed an earlier directive of Gov. Mohammed Umar Bago who ordered free medical services and deployment of sufficient health workers to all the facilities being used to manage the patients.
The Niger Government had expressed condolences to the families of the Saturday’s petrol tanker explosion, described by the governor as “sympathetic”.
The Special Adviser on Digital Media and Strategy, Abdullberqy Ebbo, on his verified social media handle, X, stated that an 18-man “multi-disciplinary medical team” from the Ministry of Health had swung into action in providing medical treatment for the victims on the governor’s directive.
Ebbo hinted that the team was
led by the Commissioner of Secondary and Tertiary Healthcare, Dr. Tukur Bello, including the Special Adviser on Health, Dr Shehu Ahmed and the Special Adviser on Special Duties, Dr. Murtala Bagana.
He explained that the medical team was immediately on ground for the urgent medical assignment and had visited both the Suleja General Hospital and Shehu Musa Yar’adua Hospital, Sabon-Wuse in Tafa local government areas.
Upon assessment of current conditions of patients, significant number of them would require intensive care and therefore referred to tertiary healthcare facilities in Abuja.
On Saturday, 43 patients, all males, were admitted at the General Hospital, Suleja.
But seven of them died, three were satisfactorily treated and discharged to recuperate at home.
Ten patients were referred for specialist care in Abuja while the remaining were receiving treatment for various degrees of burn.
Also, at the General Hospital, Sabon-Wuse, 23 patients were initially admitted, three died within eight hours of admission, relatives of 19 patients signed consent forms to be discharged against medical advice while one patient in critical state was referred to Gwagwalada Specialist Hospital, Abuja.
According to Ebbo, the team from the Ministry of Health also used the opportunity to hand over medical supplies and commodities donated by the Niger Government to the two hospitals.