Former Big Brother Naija housemate, Patrick Fakoya, better known as Rico Swavey, died in the early hours of Thursday, October 13, 2022 at Evercare Hospital, Quest Times can now report.
The easygoing artist had been involved in a ghastly accident earlier in the day, fell into a coma and never came out of it.
But the publication of a video made by apparent nurses in one of the hospitals he was taken to, has caused outrage among Nigerians because of the irresponsible behaviour of the health workers seen in the video and the very publication of the video. (Quest Times will not publish the video, as such is considered unethical).
Quest Times reports that the artist was first rushed to a hospital in Ajah, possibly Doreen, but for some yet-to-be-disclosed reasons was soon taken away and taken to Evercare.
Medical experts contend that moving him around at such critical moments not only meant he would be losing more oxygen, but reduced his chances of survival.
So, within the space of a few hours after the fatal accident, Rico was frantically transferred from one hospital to another.
But the video which went viral showed the late Rico seated helplessly as some nurses in a yet-to-be-identified hospital laughed and recorded the artist, sparking widespread condemnations on social media.
Though Evercare reportedly published a disclaimer that the viral video did not happen in their hospital, there is no piece of evidence of the rebuttal on their website or social media platforms as of press time.
Probing further on the professional conduct of the nurses, a top government official told Quest Times that; “officially, it is unprofessional for any video recording of a patient to go viral without the consent of the patient; it violates the rights of the patients.”
Though he said videos can be made in some cases to protect the hospital against litigations, “it is unacceptable to release same for public consumption without their patient’s consent or that of their family.”
Another doctor simply told Quest Times that it was totally wrong to do a video of a patient in critical condition in its entirety.
Quest Times went further to clarify what the constitution says about the privacy of citizens… Section 37 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) states as follows: “The privacy of citizens, their homes, correspondence, telephone conversations and telegraphic communications is at this moment guaranteed and protected.”
The Lagos State government, reacting to the damning video, promised to commence an investigation into the incident, stating that it did not happen in a government hospital.
“It is not a government hospital, we have started an investigation into the unprofessional conduct of those who appeared in that video,” Lagos State Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Gbenga Omotoso, said.