The quest for a healthy life has seen many people become regular visitors to hospitals, clinics and healthcare centres; whether they can afford the medical bills or not. Even when discharged, many patients stay on in hospitals awaiting relatives and good Samaritans for interventions, even as many patients disappear with their medical bills unsettled. PAUL OKAH reports.
The saying that health is wealth is particularly relevant in the Nigerian situation when you pay a visit to any health care centre, clinic or hospital to see the number of Nigerians seeking medical solution to different ailments.
From neonatal, paediatrics, maternity, accident and emergency, orthopaedic, surgical and different wards in hospitals, one sees hitherto healthy people depending on others to eat or ease themselves.
At the different hospitals visited by Blueprint Weekend in the course of this report, revealed many patients who had been discharged but couldn’t leave as a result of lack of money to settle their medical bills and have often had to be ‘detained.’
Interestingly, many non-governmental organisations (NGOs) have made it a point of duty to visit hospitals, clinics and health care centres to request for patients’ case files to be able to intervene in the payment of the medical bills of some of the patients that are affordable.
A mother’s agony
When our reporter visited the Nyanya General Hospital in Abuja on January 5, he was shown to the neonatal ward, where five children of between six to seven months were on admission for being delivered before their term.
An eight-day-old pre-term baby, Damina Haske baby, who was delivered at seven months, was sleeping inside an incubator when this reporter inquired from the nurse on duty in the neonatal ward about her medical condition.
Further investigations by this reporter revealed that the mother of the pre-term baby, Mrs. Damina Haske, could neither register nor attend ante-natal sessions while pregnant, on the excuse that she was unemployed and her husband was poorly paid as a security man for a company.
Presently, N3, 000 is being spent on the baby on a daily basis. A breakdown of the figure shows that N1, 500 is spent on an incubator, N1,000 is for C-PAP, while N500 is for phototherapy, even as the mother is charged N800 daily for a bed in the hospital, in order to stay near her baby; despite being medically fit herself.
For the eight days that the family had been in the hospital before the visit of our reporter, they had accumulated a debt of N30, 400, without the hope of leaving the hospital within a month.
According to the nurse on duty, Daka Doris, leaving the hospital depends on the baby’s level of response to treatment. The baby presently weighs 1.2kg, whereas she is expected to weigh about 1.8kg and above before she can be released to the mother to cater for.
She said, “It is only by the grace of God that parents can afford the amount of money required to see through cases here. They require huge amount of money. The woman in question didn’t even deliver here. She delivered in Mararaba medical centre. However, they don’t have incubator there so she was transferred here. The mother is charged N800 daily to stay here, apart from the money for the baby, which is N3, 000 daily.
“CPAP and phototherapy depends on the number of days the baby will stay here. There is no specific number of days the baby will stay in the incubator, it depends on the responses, and that’s how the bill mounts. The baby is even having problems digesting breast milk and that will also make the baby to stay longer here, because there may be a problem for the baby not to digest breast milk expressed from the mother.”
Continuing, she said, “There is a certain weight required for the baby to be discharged. The current weight is 1.2kg. They are usually weaned from 1.6kg to 1.8kg. But there is a problem with this baby that is not eating. Had it been that she is eating, they may be discharged soon. Sometimes, babies stay a month or 26 days in the incubator. They are fed breast milk through a tube.
“The baby weighed 1.3kg at birth and then came down to 1.2kg. It is normal for a baby to reduce the weight at birth. Whether full term or pre term, it is normal for the weight of the baby to come down at the first week of birth. Once they’re delivered, they will drop weight first before gaining weight later. Normal nine months of delivery is from 2.8kg to 4kg. Some twins weigh 3kg. Tall people weigh heavier.”
In a chat with our reporter, Mrs. Haske appealed to public-spirited Nigerians for help, stressing the fact that she was unemployed and that the baby was her first in life.
She said, “I require about N200, 000 to settle my medical bills. I am unemployed and my husband works as a security man. I delivered eighth days ago and my medical bills have been mounting. You can imagine a situation whereby I have to pay for the bed I stay to take care of my baby in the incubator.
“I have not paid a dime, but you can imagine what the bill will look like in days to come. Just a week here, I have already accumulated more than N30, 000. Where will the money come from? I appeal to well meaning Nigerians to come to my aid and that of my baby. This is my first child and I am really very helpless.”
At Abuja hospitals
At the Abuja national hospital, a nurse in the neonatal ward, who preferred not to have her name in print, said some NGOs and well meaning individuals do come to settle medical bills for patients at random, especially while celebrating birthdays or on a medical outreach.
“Some NGOs and private individuals do come to help out in settling medical bills. For instance, an individual celebrating his birthday came here yesterday with his friends and settled the bills of some patients in different wards. However, there couldn’t reach out to the neonatal ward as they said they had run out of money and promised to look in next time.
“Sometimes, this ward will be filled up with babies in incubators. Normally, during festive seasons, the hospital will not be filled up because people don’t like spending the yuletide in the hospital. Sometimes, a woman could deliver through caesarian session to a pre term baby and the medical bills will mount. You could see the mother in the maternity ward and the baby separated in the incubator.
“There was a woman we took to Maitama General Hospital for medical care, while the baby was in an incubator here. You can imagine the situation of shuttling between hospitals for medical care of both mother and child. It is only God that can save women and children. Taking care of children is not easy and our men should be praised, especially the responsible ones,” she said.
Kidney patient laments
Kidney failure appears to be the prevalent killer disease suffered by many Nigerians, which often requires millions of naira for a transplant or even for dialysis. As a result, many patients often depend on others for help to survive.
In a chat with this reporter in his Abuja home, a patient, Mr. Otuh Anthony Oko, said he was diagnosed of kidney failure years ago and cried out to Nigerians for help to meet the financial implications of maintaining his health.
He said, “I am sending this message in distress. I am currently down with Kidney disease and I need to undergo a transplant. The budget has been set at about 10 million naira and I am going everywhere to get help. Kindly see what you can do to help save my life. Help me reach out to philanthropists you know and please give your own donation to help raise this large sum. My account number is: Access Bank: 0720138610. Phone: 0805412891.”
Interestingly, a look at the facebook profile of Oko shows that he has been waiting for a Good Samaritan to no avail as a journalist and director of Afikpo Jokwa Media, Mr. Otu Obiahu, gave more details of the patient’s situation to Blueprint Weekend.
“Anthony Oko Otuh has chronic kidney failure and his health is in a very bad state at the moment. Anthony is married with three children and his last child, a boy, is barely a year old. He has been in and out of the hospital since January 2019 because of his kidneys. His condition has deteriorated so much that in April, during the past Easter holidays, he was with his family in the hospital and he has been in and out of the hospital for dialysis.
“No donation is too small. All donations will make a significant difference. It is not about how much you can give, it is the unanimous act of a group of like-minded people who have decided to participate in a worthy cause. I hope and pray that with the transplant and the love and support from everyone, Tony will be with us for many years to come.
“I plead; with more than just donating, please ask your friends, share it on social media and do all in your capacity to help. Thank you to those who have made donations directly to him or other family members already. We are very grateful. Thank you in advance for those who would like to donate. You can send your support to Anthony’s bank account.”
Patients disappearing in Afikpo
At the Mater Misericordia Hospital in Afikpo North local government area of Ebonyi state, our reporter met a plethora of patients on awaiting bill settlement (ABS) months and even years after being discharged.
For instance, Olebe Miracle, who was admitted on November 24, 2019, for acute complicated malaria and acute chest syndrome, was discharged a day later on November 25, 2019. However, out of the N24, 280 charged by the hospital authorities, the patient paid N13, 000 and disappeared, leaving an outstanding bill of N11, 280.
Another patient, Mr. Uka Samuel, from Ogbu Edda, in Afikpo South local government area, was admitted on July 7, 2019, for sepsis and discharged the following day, July 8, with a bill of N30,040 that is yet to settled at the time of filing in this report. However, the patient was nowhere in sight when this reporter visited the hospital.
Also, Egwu Miracle from Mgbom in Afikpo North local government area was admitted on August 29, 2019, and paid only N3, 000 out of the N17,270 before ‘disappearing’ from the hospital.
Furthermore, Eleje Idam from Ezi Ihere Ozizza in Afikpo North local government area was admitted on October 14, 2019, for headache, loss of appetite and generalised body weakness. She was discharged on August 21, 2019, and managed to pay N12, 530 out of the N19, 530 before taking to her heels.
More cases
With regards to patients indebted to the hospital, Ekuma Amanda from Ugwuegu in Afikpo North local government area of Ebonyi state, was admitted on December 9, 2019 for severe anemia and discharged on December 23, 2019 with an unpaid bill of N36,020 and was nowhere around the hospital premises at the time of filing this report.
Similarly, Orji Victor from Ezi Akputa Mgbom in Afikpo North local government area was admitted on November 2, 2019, following a road accident and discharged on November 29, 2019. He paid N10, 000 out of the N129, 950 charged by the hospital. He was still recuperating in the ward when this reporter visited.
Also, Uro Lawrence Azubuike from Egeburu in Afikpo North local government area was admitted for epilepsy on December 16, 2019, and ‘discharged’ on December 20, with an outstanding bill of N50, 840.
Lamentations
A nurse, who asked not to be named in print for obvious reasons, told this reporter that it is a thing of concern to the management of the hospital that patients have been deserting the hospital without settling their bills.
“Many of the patients have been disappearing from the hospital; leaving us to hold the can. This is a mission hospital, how do we run it without the patients paying their bills? It is more worrying because government policy says we must stabilise and treat patients even without their paying deposits. Therefore, we are losing a lot.
“If you go to the wards, you will not see many of the patients who are supposed to stay until their bills are settled. It is not a matter of security or being vigilant, you won’t even know when the patients disappear and the Rev. Fr. has been complaining bitterly. We really need the intervention of well meaning Nigerians in settling the mountain of medical bills of disappearing patients,” she said.
Another nurse, who also insisted to speak anonymously, said she has often been forced to settle medical bills for patients out of pity.
She said, “Many patients who remain in the wards are those who are not fit enough to disappear or who are disabled. You need to see them hovering around or accosting anyone who visit the wards with the intention of settling medical bills of selected patients. I can’t say I blame them. Many of them have lost hope of leaving the hospital and some even work to offset their bills before being allowed to leave.
“Many terms, many of the patients have been converted to cleaners or gardeners when strong enough to work in order to settle their bills. The situation is not funny. Many times, I have been held responsible for patients who disappeared under my care and forced to pay their bills through deductions from my salary. Even the working condition is not encouraging as many doctors leave the hospital at the slightest opportunity of employment elsewhere.”
