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| General Hospital Badagry and Daniel Chibogu |
The relatives of Daniel Chibogu a patient in Badagry General Hospital, Lagos State, who died after the authority of the hospital has requested N100,000 before ambulance could be used and N40,000 for bad oxygen, has cried out.
In a video that went viral on Monday, Daniel was said to have walked in to the hospital for checkups and treatment, where he was diagnosed to be diabetic and was admitted. The following day, he went unconscious, and the doctor recommended that he be placed on oxygen, "which was not given him for two days not until the relatives paid N26,000" the relative said.
The relative of Daniel who made the videos, said the patient was eventually referred to Lagos State Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) for proper treatment. On the request for an ambulance to take the patient to LASUTH, the Managing Director of Badagry General Hospital, instructed that the sum of N100,000 must be paid to have access to the ambulance, and an additional N40,000 will also be paid for oxygen that will be used for the patient while he is in transit.
"When we got to the hospital, the patient was diagnosed with a high sugar level, which was over 380. By Thursday, he had gone unconscious. The doctor recommended oxygen for him but didn't give it until Saturday, when we were able to pay N26,000 for oxygen. They then referred us to LASUTH, When we requested an ambulance, they said we should go get it outside they said no ambulance. One doctor told me that if I know any politicians in Badagry, I should call them so the ambulance could be given to us. that the available once were for private use after we started creating scenes.
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| Payment receipt |
"They called the M.D. of the general hospital Badagry, who asked us to pay N100,000 for the ambulance After that, we were asked to pay N40,000 for oxygen that will be used in the ambulance while the patent is in transit, which we also paid.
He lamented the poor state of the ambulance, adding that there was no medical equipment, and that the oxygen given finished some distance from the hospital, which possibly led to the death of the patient.
"I think the oxygen was fake or has almost finished. On our way to LASUTH from Badagry, the oxygen finished at Egbeda, and the patient began to struggle for breath. On getting to LASUTH, the doctor was angry that why could they have brought a patient from Badagry without oxygen? The patient died few hours after getting to LASUTH."
Podo Sunday a journalist, who spoke with our reporter on the matter said, In overseas, no one can get assess health care without health insurance (NHIS), be it in America or the UK.
"In Lagos State, there's what they call ILERA EKO, which is just N8,500 for singles and N42,000 for families of four. It covers both surgery and drugs and is valid for one year. I've done several write-ups on social media and in three national dailies: The Punch, The Nation, and Tribune, calling on Badagrians and Lagos residents to register for this Lagos State Health Insurance Scheme.
"I sent details to my friends and cousins abroad to register their aged parents as it is life saving and many responded. Those in charge of ILERA EKO at GHB know me as their pro bono consultant as my own little contribution to my community, Badagry.
"But many still see it as a way the government wants to eat their money, but when they break down and are at the point of death and are rushed to GHB, they start talking about the negligence of doctors and nurses. Where in the world do they treat adults free of charge, it is either health insurance cover or you pay money?.
"The only people covered by free medical care today in Lagos State are children, and antenatal (pregnant women), and the elderly, and it has limits. People don't know. You can't go to UK or America today and walk to their hospitals and be given VIP treatment without a valid health insurance. Lagosians don't want to live with realties.
"If you're a Lagos resident, GO GET your ILERA EKO now and save yourself the burden of passing blame. If you don't have insurance or money, expect the worst when you're down and visit hospitals. That's the truth.
"Again, another devastating truth about our culture here is that, until our condition worsens or deteriorates, we don't visit hospitals for checkups or early treatment, and when the bubble bursts, we start passing the bucks.
"This is a lesson to everyone to take their health very seriously. Doctors don't replace life, they only treat, Nurses don't give life, they only administer drugs. It is God who heals and preserves life," he added.
Attempt to reach the management of the General Hospital Badagry was not successful at the time this news was reported.