Panic As Students Die At Queens College, Health Minister Orders Investigations
A panel of investigation to unravel cause of deaths of two students of Queens College was on Thursday ordered by Minister of Health, Professor Isaac Adewole.
Adewole who was in Lagos for the commissioning of the new Secretariat of the West African College of Surgeon, had received a distress call alleging the outbreak of water borne disease in which students were reported to have developed diarrhoea disease which led to deaths in the School.
Healthstyleplus Online’s investigation however revealed that the School Authority might be culpable in the allegation having been indicted a few weeks previously by a visiting team of investigators from the Federal Ministry of Education that the School’s water and environmental sanitation conditions were “substandard, poor and unsuitable for learning”, said a parent of the School.
“In fact we understand the School was rated poorly for the fact that the facilities in the School are being overstretched and was no longer sufficient to cater for its teeming population of about 4000 students”, our source lamented.
Although the Minister urged parents of the School to remain calm as a thorough investigation would be carried out on the cause of deaths more so, since the deaths occurred in the homes of the affected.
Our Correspondent learnt that albeit the School went on mid term break on Wednesday, prior to the break, there was an upsurge in the cases of students admitted in the School sick bay in the last three weeks “all students had similar complaints of diarrhoea and vomiting which the school doctor cannot deny”said the parent who spoke to Healthstyplus online.
According to a statement issued by the Director of Press, Mrs. Boade Akinola, “The Minister was on his way to the Airport when he received the distress message and diverted his convoy to visit the School in the company of the Chief Medical Director, LUTH where he met the representative of Lagos State Commissioner for Health, Dr Erinosho and the Principal Dr. (Mrs) Lami Amodu and her staff in a meeting”.
He was told the school is currently on mid-term break but there were two reported deaths of students at home. One due to febrile illness and cause of the second is unknown.
Following his interaction, the Minister has directed the officials of the Ministry of Health, Community Health , and LUTH to ascertain the cause of death of the students, inspect the school environment including the kitchen, examine the source of water supply and text its suitability for human consumption and also visit the bereaved families.
The report of investigation will be forwarded to the Minister of Education who has been informed on the steps taken, as the Minister assured government is on top of the situation, the statement added.
But investigations by Healthstyleplus Online also revealed that about three weeks ago, the attention of the School Principal, Dr (Mrs) Lami Amodu was drawn to the poor environmental sanitation and water sources in the School as well as the unhygienic condition of the Kitchen which have remain source of concern to parents.