“Stop Filming, Start Helping”: Lagos Health Chief Decries Onlookers Who Record Emergencies Instead of Assisting
The Lagos State Commissioner for Health, Prof. Akin AbayomI has decried the nonchalant attitude of onlookers during emergency, adding that most trauma cases on the roads were not accidents but preventable incidents caused by human errors.
Abayomi, who was represented by the Director of Medical Services, Lagos Health Service Commission, Dr. Olawale Adegbite, made this known while speaking at a symposium in Ikeja hosted to mark The World Trauma Day 2025.
Discussing the theme, “Reducing Needless Deaths on Our Roads: Everybody’s Responsibility”, AbayomI decried that many lives were lost due to delays caused by onlookers taking videos instead of assisting first responders, urging Lagosians to respect ambulances and prioritize saving lives.
He stressed that the state’s emergency systems, especially pre-hospital care and ambulance services, have been instrumental in saving lives but require continuous improvement and public cooperation.
Earlier in her opening remarks, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Health, Dr. Kemi Ogunyemi, who was represented by the Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Health, Dr. Oluwatoni Adeyemi, described trauma as one of the leading causes of preventable deaths and disabilities globally, particularly from road traffic crashes.
She noted that the state has made significant progress under the leadership of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, citing improvements in ambulance coverage, response time, and coordination among first responders.
In the light of the event, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Health, Dr. Olusegun Ogboye, recalled that the story of “Mr. Andrew,” a trauma survivor treated at LASAEC, represented the essence of the symposium, recounting how coordinated emergency response and government-backed trauma care saved a man who was left comatose after a crash on the morning of his daughter’s wedding.
Dr. Ogboye stressed that pre-hospital care was a crucial but often neglected component of healthcare, revealing that the State Government was expanding trauma centers across the state.
Delivering a moving presentation titled “The Traumatic Story Being Rewritten,” the Medical Director, LASAEC, Dr. Adeolu Arogundade, commended the State Government for sustaining a policy that guarantees free emergency care for all trauma victims within the first 24 hours, emphasizing that the policy’s funding remains vital to saving lives.
