A long-awaited new elevator for General Hospital, Odan Lagos, is expected to arrive in Nigeria before the end of May 2024, according to Dr. Moruf Abdulsalam, Chairman of the Medical Guild.
The Medical Guild represents medical doctors employed by the Lagos State Government and has been advocating for improvements in hospital facilities following a tragic incident on August 1, 2023. On that day, Dr. Vwaere Diaso, a house officer, lost her life when the elevator she was in crashed from the 10th floor to the ground floor of the hospital.
Despite the incident occurring nine months ago, repairs to the building housing the elevator were only recently commissioned by the Commissioner of Health, Prof. Akin Abayomi. Abdulsalam revealed in an interview with Sunday PUNCH that while Julius Berger is handling the building repairs, another contractor has been scheduled to install the new elevator upon its arrival in the country.
He explained, “The work has commenced on that site, and the work is expected to take eight months. The elevator will be procured and assembled outside the country, then installed upon arrival. As far as I know now, the lift has not yet entered the country; however, they have assured us that it will arrive before the end of this month.”
Abdulsalam emphasized that significant progress must be made on the building renovations before the elevator installation can take place. He estimated that the renovation work would be 70-80% completed before the elevator installation begins.
