The Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH) Teaching Hospital has unveiled plans to continue providing medical and psychological support for victims rescued from the Oriire school abduction, even after they are discharged from the hospital.
Chief Medical Director of the hospital, Dr. Olawale Olakulehin, disclosed on Wednesday that a multidisciplinary team comprising medical social workers, paediatricians, psychologists and physiotherapists would carry out follow-up visits to the victims’ homes to monitor their recovery where necessary.
The development comes after 31 of the rescued victims were discharged on Tuesday, while nine others remain on admission. Those still receiving treatment consist of eight children and one adult.
Giving an update on their condition, Olakulehin expressed optimism about their recovery, noting that the remaining patients were responding well to treatment and would be reunited with their families as soon as specialists completed their assessments.
“By and large, we are grateful to God that there is no further loss of life and the ones with us are actually making rapid progress; they are improving rapidly, and we are grateful to God for that. Let me also use the opportunity to thank you for seeking the proper channel for gathering information.
“Eight of the children are still with us. Those are the ones that the specialists in various areas believe still need further evaluation and care, and one of the adults.
“We hope that within the shortest possible time, we will get them released to their family. We believe family reunion is one of the healing processes. And we will not have reason to delay anybody or keep anybody unnecessarily in the hospital,” he said.
The chief medical director also clarified reports concerning one of the children diagnosed with a hole in the heart, explaining that the condition was discovered during routine medical examinations and was not linked to the period of captivity.
According to him, available medical findings indicate that the condition existed before the abduction.
Olakulehin said the hospital had already put in place a structured post-discharge programme to ensure that survivors continue receiving the care required for their full recovery after returning to their communities.
“You may wish to ask, what happens thereafter? We have a well-organised social work department and medical social workers. We have standby ambulances.
“And we are working closely with the comprehensive health centre that is at Ikoyi, which is within the locality of the incident, so that if there is anything unusual, the response from us will be as rapid as possible.
“And part of the program we have mapped out is further follow-up is home visits to be led by the social workers.
“And then the paediatricians and psychologists will also be part of the team that will be doing the home visit. And we do that as long as it is necessary,” he added.
