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| Picture used for illustration |
A Lagos resident has called on the state government to take a close look
at activities of private medical firms, who he accused of trading on lives of
patients especially those of pregnant women and babies.
The resident who did not want his name mentioned for security reasons alleged
that private health institutions have formed a network among themselves,
through which they exploit the people.
Correspondent ran into the angry
resident at a hospital near Coker Bridge, in Coker Aguda council, where his
wife was on admission as at Wednesday this week.
He was furious at the medical practitioners for referring his wife for
multiple medical screenings, at huge cost, thus leaving him with no money to
treat her.
The resident who suspected that the diagnostic centers and the hospital,
were working together to exploit him, complained that some of the test results
they gave were wrong, as they diagnosed appendices instead of ulcer.
“Immediately my wife told me of abdominal pain, we started observing
and suspected ulcer. But when we went to the hospital, the doctor prescribed
medical test and referred us to a diagnostic Centre. Because they were very not
professional, they said it was appendicitis. That I did not believe because my
wife had undergone appendix operation before. So, I prevented them from
performing the operation.The doctor, thereafter referred us to another
diagnostic Centre on Ogunlana Street,, Surulere. There it was confirmed that she
has epigastric ulcer”.
According
to him, when he refused them from operating his wife, on the ground that she
had undergone appendicitis operation, the doctor of the private hospital referred
them to another test instead of treating her.
“When I was telling this doctor of the
real lab result, he insisted we should run a third test for confirmation. I
have spent so much on test alone. What I am concerned is that all the money we
have been spending would have been enough to treat her”.
The resident said with the hard times in the country, the onus is on
government to protect the masses, especially in issues of health.
“It
is coming from my pulse. I am not happy because I am not seeing any
improvement. The money used for running so many tests, would have been used to
treat her. I would have gone out of this place since. I have so many things to
do with money, not only on my wife. I am really disappointed”.
“Things
are really not easy in this country. So you have to manage the little you have
prudently. If you don’t manage your money well, you go bankrupt and start
borrowing. I don’t want to be a borrower. It is not even good. The Bible
condemns it”.
When the attention of the head of the medical team was drawn to
the uproar caused by the man, the doctor threatened to stop treating his wife and subsequently discharge her forcefully.
"This women is leaving this hospital this moment. Imagine, he (referring to the man) has not even being meeting up in paying the medical bills totaling over
N50,000, yet he had the gut to complain that his wife was not given proper
treatment", said the doctor.
Meanwhile another resident also reported of a false diagnosis by a
diagnostic centre in Ikorodu area the state, which said she won’t be able to deliver her baby due to narrow pelvis and it
turned out to be false.
The women said she ended up delivering her baby weighing over 4kg.
Although government hospitals are seen as better alternatives,
many Lagos residents still avoid them, because of bureaucratic bottlenecks
causing them to wait for long hours before
treatment , among others.
