Rivers: UPTH denies  death of over 19 Babies in Special Care Unit, suspend Surgeries

Daniel Efe/Port Harcourt.

The University of Port-Harcourt Teaching Hospital, UPTH has denied online media report that fourteen (14) to Nineteen (19) babies died due to power outage in the hospital.

The report had alleged that since last week Wednesday June 29, Doctors in the apex hospital had suspend surgery procedures, while 14 babies die at UPTH’s incubator due to power outages.

According to the report, an unnamed Medical Officer at the hospital who spoke to the blogger on the conditions of anonymity said among the dead babies were the twin babies of a woman who had been looking for the fruit of the womb for seven years.

She said the woman gave birth last month but due to the premature nature of the delivery, they were put in an incubator.

“I’m saddened. We lost those twins on (Wednesday) because of power failure at the hospital. More than 14 babies have died at the incubator in the past weeks due to power failure”, she said.

The report further alleged that “Other patients  that they were being referred to private hospitals by doctors due to the poor power situation.

“They added that their relatives use their phone light to aid doctors and nurses who are taking care of the person he rushed to the Accident and Emergency Ward”.

However in swift denial of allegations, the management in a press statement signed by Elabha Alexandra Meni, the Acting Public Relations Officer of UPTH said, UPTH is an institution, where world’s best medical standards are practiced and maintained which also has helped made the institution one of the best medical center in the South-south and Nigeria at large.

The hospital said that it is quite saddening that certain persons try to tarnish the image of the hospital by spreading false messages and information that are inaccurate.

“Our attention has been drawn to a story of the fourteen (14) to Nineteen (19) babies dying in the hospital, this is not correct. We did not record any infant mortality in our Special Care Baby Unit (inborn and outborn) as a result of our electrical power outage, due to the faulty transformer.

UPTH said “Surgeries were never cancelled, neither were our services disrupted.

The management of UPTH frown seriously at such scandalous social media propaganda that is damaging it’s image. We want the general public to know that we remain committed in our service to humanity.”, the Statement.