By Dipo Olowookere
A virtual meeting on the management of COVID-19 incidence was held at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) recently.
It was the first held by the state-owned health institution under the leadership of Prof. Adetokunbo Fabamwo, the Chief Medical Director.
At the meeting with about 250 participants from various parts of the state and the United Kingdom, Prof Fabamwo stressed that the hospital hopes to take the lead in education surrounding COVID-19 with a very impressive start.
A Professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) Prof. Bosede Afolabi, while presenting an overview of the pandemic in relation to LUTH’s Obstetrics and Gynaecology Department, advised doctors not to subject pregnant women to caesarean session, citing that there is no evidence of vertical transmission in pregnant women as she also prescribed early isolation, use of oxygen, avoidance of fluid overload and early ICU referrals.
While recounting his experience, a Consultant Emergency Medicine Physician, University of North East, England, United Kingdom, Dr Kayode Adeboye, analysed the incidence of COVID-19 in the UK as major, natural or man-made, simple or compound.
He further added that planning for these incidences involve staffing, provision of PPE, good communication as these will go a long way to save lives and stop the escalation of the incidence.
In his presentation centred on Preventing COVID-19 Infection among Hospital Workers During and After the Pandemic Era, Prof. Olumuyiwa Odusanya, who is a professor of Public Health, described the pandemic as a huge daily risk for health workers, just like firefighters.
Professor Odusanya reinforced the fact that health workers were in great risk of infectious disease with risk factors including insufficient or inappropriate use of personal protective equipment, incorrect screening, environmental control, shortage of staff and non-payment of salaries among others.
He added that the risks can be reduced by preventive measures like triage, availability and proper use of PPE, environmental cleaning, training of staff, surveillance and monitoring, assuming responsibility and protecting self.
During his presentation, he led the participants to observe a minute silence for those health workers who have lost their lives in the line of duty and praised those who are still in the forefront of fighting the pandemic.
According to him, over 8 million people have been infected with about 400,000 deaths globally.
In his closing remark, the Director of Clinical Services and Training, Dr Ibrahim Mustafa, appreciated all the speakers and participants for making this maiden edition a great success.
