LASAMBUS officials rescue, deliver stranded pregnant woman

A stranded pregnant woman who fell into labour while on transit has been delivered of a baby by a team of the Lagos State Ambulance Service (LASAMBUS) officials.

The woman, 27 year old Shukarat Isa, who resides at 30 Akin Akinsheyinwa Street, Awoyaya, Lagos and the baby, a male who weighed 3.3kg, have since been taken to the Ikate Healthcentre for further care and management.

Speaking after receiving a report of the successful medical emergency response by the LASAMBUS team, Lagos State Commissioner for Health, Prof. Akin Abayomi, explained that the incident occurred around Law School Bus Stop, on the popular Ozumba Mbadiwe Road, Victoria Island.

According to him: “LASAMBUS received a distressed call of a pregnant woman in labour at 8.02am and promptly dispatched its closest response team to the venue of the incident. The team arrived at the scene, the Law School Bus stop, at 8:16 am, and quickly set parameters for the emergency response, helping the woman to deliver both the baby and the placenta.”

He added that the team cleaned up both the baby and mother while observing basic medical emergency procedures on the spot before conveying them to the Ikate Healthcentre for further management.

He said: “This is a typical case of an obstetric emergency which may arise at any tim during pregnancy, labour and birth. The Lagos State government realising the pivotal role of prompt emergency response including transport of pregnant women during critical obstetric emergency in preventing maternal and child deaths has continued to expand its ambulance services to offer prompt emergency service to residents.

“We are happy that our investment and effort in overhauling the Lagos State Ambulance Service is yielding the desired results. News such as this are cheering and heartwarming as it adds up to improve our health indices and showcase our resolve to provide efficient and equitable service delivery to Lagosians.”

Speaking in the same vein, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Health Dr. Olusegun Ogboye, disclosed that the Sanwo-Olu led administration is currently reviewing the performance of the ambulance service and currently implementing a strategic plan to significantly improve service delivery, response time and the quality of care delivered by the service to reduce morbidity and mortality from emergencies.

He added that the present administration has put words to action by commencing the overhauling of the ambulance service with new state-of-the-art ambulances and equipment to further sharpen the operations of LASMABUS and comprehensive and continuous capacity development for staff of LASAMBUS for improved performance.

“With over 200 staff, 25 ambulance points and a fleet of ambulances strategically located across the State, the Lagos State Ambulance Service is poised to provide prompt pre-hospital and emergency health care to Lagosians. Ours is a 24-hour medical emergency response service including weekends and public holidays,” Ogboye said.

Giving an account of the incident, the rescued woman, Shukarat Isa explained that she was in transit from Awoyaya in Ibeju-lekki Local Council to Orile on a public bus when she went into labour.

In her words, “I was on a bus to Orile from Awoyaya, I fell into labour in the course of the journey and a man sitting beside me called the emergency number and requested help. The vehicle had a stop at the Law School Bus Stop for some passengers to disembark and this was where the LASAMBUS officials caught up with the vehicle and assisted with the delivery, which was already in process.

“The team also assisted in cleaning me and my baby up before transporting us to Ikate Healthcentre at Elegushi. At the healthcentre, the nurses stayed with us and assisted with my admission and baby immunization before leaving. I have since been discharged and my baby and I are doing quite well. I would like to appreciate the medical team for their response and care, it means a lot to me and my family.”

The LASAMBUS team that was involved in the life saving emergency service include; Oyekanmi Inumidun Ayomibo, an Assistant Chief Community Health Technician; Uthman Nofisat Afolashade, Higher Community Health Technician and Yusuf Olanrewaju Rahmon, the Ambulance pilot.