The Management of the University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH) has noted with grave concern the circulation of false, misleading, and malicious publications targeted at the Chief Medical Director (CMD) of the Hospital, Prof (Mrs) Idia Nibokun Ize-Iyamu, in some sections of social media, particularly regarding the engagement of a private laboratory service within the Accident and Emergency (A&E) Unit.
Management states unequivocally that these allegations are entirely false, defamatory, and devoid of factual or legal basis, and appear calculated to mislead the public, incite distrust, and unjustly impugn the integrity of the Chief Medical Director and the institution.
For clarity, the private laboratory service was engaged to complement the Hospital’s existing diagnostic services within the A&E Unit. The decision was taken strictly in the overriding interest of patient care and safety, particularly for critically ill patients whose survival depends on immediate and uninterrupted access to laboratory investigations especially when there are challenges with the UBTH laboratory in the Accident and Emergency unit.
This engagement was neither arbitrary nor unlawful but fully compliant with extant Federal Ministry of Health (FMoH) directives, which empower hospital managements to adopt innovative arrangements to ensure the continuity of critical healthcare services. The service is intended to function alongside the Hospital’s laboratories, augmenting capacity and efficiency, and not to replace or supplant the hospital’s core laboratory services. Indeed, there exist over ten (10) functional hospital laboratories across UBTH and they continue to operate, clearly negating any insinuation of institutional displacement or privatization.
Management therefore rejects in the strongest terms the reckless dissemination of falsehoods and cautions and wish to state that the continued publication or repetition of these defamatory claims may attract appropriate legal action, as UBTH reserves the right to protect the reputation of its leadership and institution through all lawful means.
Members of the public are accordingly advised to disregard these spurious allegations and rely solely on verified information issued through official channels of the University of Benin Teaching Hospital.
UBTH remains steadfast in its statutory mandate to deliver quality healthcare, uphold professional ethics, and safeguard lives, regardless of prevailing challenges.
Signed:
Osaretin Iyen,
Head, Public Relations and Information Unit,
For: Chief Medical Director
