Akin Abayomi, the Lagos state commissioner for Health has said the decision to triage victims of the Ikeja accident outside its emergency wards was in line with standardised protocols for handling mass casualties.
He said the triage for mass casualties is typically set up in open spaces as a secondary measure to accommodate more victims and provide immediate care.
Following a throng of criticisms over inadequate preparation for emergencies by the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), Abayomi explained that the triage model adopted is necessary to sort the severity of injuries and prioritize treatment to save lives.
According to the National Emergency Management Agency, two female staff of the state died, with several injured in a collision between a train and a bus at the PWD bus stop in Ikeja, Lagos on Thursday morning.
“On occasions where large numbers of casualties exist like in this situation, a second triage centre is set up at the most specialised medical facility in that jurisdiction, which is LASUTH. LASUTH established the second triage centre on its helipad platform just outside its surgical emergency department by erecting an emergency triage canopy,” he stated in a Twitter thread.
The accident recorded 102 casualties including six fatalities. All victims of the accident with varying degrees of injuries including life-threatening conditions such as head and chest cases were admitted and treated at LASUTH, Abayomi said on Friday.
25 patients with moderate injuries were later referred to five General Hospitals across Lagos for further treatment and to decongest LASUTH.
Triage in medical parlance means the prioritization of patient care or victims during a disaster based on illness or injury, severity, prognosis, and resource availability.
Read also: Train, Bus accident: Sanwo-Olu declares 3 days mourning
During the wake of the violent twist to weeks of the #ENDSARS protests against police brutality across Lagos in 2020, hospitals unusually stepped up emergency response for gunshot victims.
Both government hospitals and private hospitals rose to the occasion, with some putting up makeshift tents to save victims who grew in number within a short time.
The Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, Ikeja (LASUTH), and the Federal Medical Centre, Ebute-Metta had tents erected outside their medical and surgical emergency wards to expand their capacity to admit fresh cases.
The commissioner said the first triage stage is usually at the accident site by the trained paramedics equipped with medical intensive care unit (MICU) ambulances to deliver immediate hospital care.
“They stabilise patients and immobilise joints to prevent further damage by fractures and identify bleeding patients who require emergency cardiovascular support en route to medical emergency facilities,” he said.
However, many are displeased by the sight of victims being treated from beds thrown on the floor outside emergency wards. They faulted the commissioner’s explanation for missing the part that touches lack of adequate infrastructure to handle mass casualties in a more organised and befitting setting.
It is believed that if the hospital was equipped with a great number of bed spaces, some of those treated on floor beds could have been properly admitted.
“This explanation is coming because there are already questions about people being attended to outside. But who says triage has to be done outside if we have the proper facilities? Explanations are okay but won’t explain away the fact that we haven’t got the adequate facility,” @UgoGod63 tweeted, tagging Abayomi.
Also, another Twitter user, using the handle, @IdrisTitus said “My concern has always been how @lasambus get to the emergency scene within the shortest possible time. The lack of dedicated emergency service lanes on our roads is a huge challenge”.
