A protest erupted yesterday at the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital (UCTH) as nurses took to the streets following the arrest of three of their colleagues by the Nigeria Police. The protest was sparked by the death of a patient at the hospital, with police accusing the nurses of negligence for failing to record the necessary details about the deceased.
The nurses, numbering around 200, gathered at the hospital entrance, blocking the gate and halting both vehicular and pedestrian movement in and out of the facility. The protestors were demanding the immediate release of the three nurses who had been detained by the police.
Sources revealed that the nurses’ arrest followed the death of a patient, who had been brought to the hospital by a Good Samaritan. The police alleged that the nurses failed to document key information about the patient, including the identity of the person who brought the patient in, an omission that the police deemed as negligence of duty.
A protesting nurse, who preferred to remain anonymous, explained the situation: “A Good Samaritan brought a patient to the hospital and made some payments for his treatment before leaving. Sadly, the patient passed away during the night. When the deceased’s relatives arrived and found out their loved one had died, they discovered that the deceased’s SIM card was missing. They demanded that the nurses provide either the missing card or details about the Good Samaritan. When the nurses couldn’t provide the information, they went to the police, leading to the arrest of the three nurses who attended to the patient.”
In their quest for justice, the protesting nurses also marched to the Cross River State Police Command headquarters, demanding the immediate and unconditional release of their colleagues. The protest disrupted normal activities at the hospital, with several patients unable to access medical services. Efforts to reach the hospital’s management for comment were unsuccessful.
Police Public Relations Officer Irene Ugbo, when contacted, expressed disapproval of the nurses’ actions, stating that it was highly unprofessional for trained nurses to admit a patient without taking proper records from the Good Samaritan. “It’s unethical for nurses to admit a patient without recording details about the person who brought the patient in,” Ugbo said. However, she confirmed that the Commissioner of Police had instructed that the arrested nurses be released without delay.
