Inability To Pay Hospital Bills Patient Detained For Over A Month

Samaria hospital, a private medical centre has detained its patient Jessica Ugwuoke for more than one month because she could not pay her bills.
When the woman was transferred from a maternity clinic to Samaria Hospital based in the Ikotun Egbe area of Lagos, her husband, Tochukwu Ugwuoke was asked to pay N30,000 for blood transfusion into his wife who lost a lot of blood during labor. While the mother was struggling for her own life, newborn baby died.

Since August 12, Mrs. Ugwuoke has been detained by the hospital for failure to pay N285,000 for medical treatment.

Speaking with journalists, the detained patient said that the couple was not informed of the cost of the Caesarean section until after the surgery.

According Mrs. Ugwuoke, she was denied a hospital beds and Dr. Clem refused to treat her after her surgery because she and her husband could not pay the amount of the bill. 

“The day they discharged me from the bed, Dr. Clem asked me to tell my husband to bring his money even if he [my husband] has to steal.”

“I have been lying down on the passageway,” she added.

Meanwhile, Mr Ugwuoke,who is currently unemployed, was begging the hospital to release his wife, promising to seek a loan to pay her hospital expenses. However, the hospital declined his request.

The woman, who is chained to a urinal pipe to prevent her escape, described her treatment as dehumanizing. She called on the Lagos state government and human rights organizations to intervene and release her.