The management of Mojol Hospital, a private health facility in Church Street, in Shasha area of Lagos State, has explained its decision to detain a nursing mother, Blessing Bassey and her baby for seven months within the facility.
Bassey and her husband have been unable to pay N95,000 debt owed the hospital after a Caesarian Section was performed on her during the delivery of the baby in March 2020.
According to the Administrative Officer of the hospital, Akindayo Salami, the hospital’s action was not borne out of wickedness but a product of experience.
He said that the hospital did not heed Bassey’s plea to be allowed to go home and take menial jobs in order to offset the bill because similar promises made by previous patients turned out to be a lie.
Salami explained that the Medical Director of the hospital out of compassion reduced the bill from N350,000 to N250,000 out of which Bassey and her husband, a mechanic, have paid N155,000.
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He further disclosed that the hospital has written well-meaning organisations to seek help for Bassey but none has responded yet.
Explaining her ordeal, Bassey told The Punch, “I was seven months’ pregnant that time. I collapsed and was rushed to the hospital I registered with, but they did not have equipment for a caesarean section, so I was referred to Mojol Hospital. I was rushed to the hospital that same night and a CS was performed to save my life and the baby.
“Some days after the CS was done, I was told that our bill was N300,000; we paid N100,000 out of it.
“After paying, the owner of the hospital said the bill was N350,000. One of our neighbours came to beg her to reduce the money, and she reduced it to N250,000.
“We were able to pay a total of N155,000 and begged her to allow me to go and work so we could pay the balance by instalments, but she refused. I have been in the hospital since then.
“I had not spent one month on the hospital bed after the CS when I was told to move to the floor. I had to spread my wrapper on the floor so that my baby and I could sleep and that’s where we have been sleeping for the past seven months.
“I don’t have any money on me. I begged people that come to visit other patients for money to feed myself and the baby.”
Rights activist, Esther Ogwu condemned the hospital’s action but stated that money was being raised to assist Bassey to get out of her predicament.