The Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria(MDCN), has described the action of the late Port Harcourt doctor, Dr Iyke Enemuo, who died after contracting the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) from Olubukun Koye, the ECOWAS diplomat he treated in a Port-Harcourt hotel, as that of a traditional healer.
The Registrar of the doctors regulatory body, Dr. Abdulmumuni Ibrahim, who condemned the decision of the late doctor to treat a patient suffering from a contagious disease in a hotell, described it as out of practice.
Speaking to journalists after tribunal sittings, he said the late doctor’s action was highly unethical, adding that it was wrong to treat a patient outside a medical facility. [eap_ad_1] He said : “It is very unfortunate that he died. But what he did was very wrong. In fact, orthodox doctors should not behave like traditional healers. No medical intervention by a doctor should be done in secrecy. If you are a patient, the doctor should advise that you be treated at the right facility.
Even when in an emergency a doctor should get the patient moved to the hospital after handling the emergency. So honestly it was really wrong for the doctor to treat a patient in a hotel. What he did was unethical.”
Ibrahim also called on doctors not to join in abandoning patients with symptoms similar to EVD in hospitals. He however said that doctors and other medical personnel must be properly kitted with protective gear when handling patients displaying EVD symptoms.
According to him, “A doctor is not supposed to reject a patient though the consultation between a patient and a doctor is a mutual contract. A doctor has the right to accept or not to accept to treat a patient. But is unfortunate that a doctor will refuse to treat a patient after he or she goes to the right facility seeking treatment.”
He added that if a doctor is up to date in the practice of Medicine, he should be well informed about managing the Ebola Virus Disease and that’s why the council has made it a policy for a doctor to renew his/her license annually, he/she must be up to date by way of continuing professional development.
“If a doctor is up to date, he will be in tune with global best practices and he will be knowledgeable about the approved protocol of treating Ebola Virus Disease. It also expected that every medical personnel involved in managing a case of the disease is fully kitted in world standard protective kit.” (Leadership)
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