Doctors at the General Hospital, Apapa, Lagos, who mistakenly slashed a baby’s head during a caesarian section have owned up to their mistake.
One of the doctors, Dr. Idowu Adewale, in a letter to the Office of the Public Defender following a query from the Lagos State Ministry of Health, confessed that the injury sustained by the baby that led to his suffering brain damage was a mistake because the operation was done as an emergency.
According to Dr. Adewale, ”the surgery was performed by a principal medical officer, Dr. N.O. Sanusi, assisted by a senior medical officer, Dr. M.O. Tijani and supervised by the consultant obstetrician. However, there was an accidental scalped injury to the baby’s scalp at the back of the head.â€
Dr. Adewale said that the injury was detected while cleaning the baby. “The laceration was instantly sutured by the consultant obstetrician and the baby was commenced on antibiotics injection, multivatimins and analgesic,†he stated.
Dr. Adewale absolved the medical personnel from the fate that befell the baby but blamed the mother, who he claimed, opted to dress the wound at home with local preparations before coming back to the hospital.
“It is very important to note that inadvertent scalpel injury to babies during caesarian section is a known complication of that surgery worldwide, most especially when it was done as an emergency to save the baby’s life. Her refusal to bring the child for dressing led to wound breakdown and no medical personnel can be held responsible for that,†he concluded.
But the mother of the child, Rosemay Oji, 32, rejected the doctor’s latter observation, arguing that since the doctors confirmed that they made a mistake during the caesarian section, they should be held responsible and the government, their employer, be made to take responsibility for the welfare of the child.
Oji said the doctors had rendered her baby incapacitated and the government should come to her aid by assuming responsibility for his upkeep.
She narrated how doctors at the hospital slashed her baby’s head during a caesarian section and quickly discharged them from the hospital.
Following the damage, the baby which ought to be a source of joy to the parents is now a sorry sight, as he has been rendered incapacitated for life.
The baby, named Samuel, cannot cry, talk, crawl or do anything asociated with a child’s development.
A test conducted by Dr. F.A. Oke of the Federal Neuropsychiatric Hospital, Yaba, Lagos, showed that the baby suffered brain damage during the CS performed on the mother.
According to Dr. Oke, ”the victim suffers from abnormal record consistent with partial complex seizure disorder capable of potentially delayed cerebral maturation in view of the frequent seizure.â€
The embattled woman who was in tears while narrating what happened to her only son, said she has been to Massey Children’s Hospital in Lagos Island but all to no avail.
”When they saw the wound at the Massey Children’s Hospital, they sent us back. We were again referred to the General Hospital on Lagos Island where we stayed for another three weeks.
“It was in the hospital that we discovered that the child was not developing normally and we protested and they agreed to carry out some tests, but they refused to disclose the results of the tests.â€
“Doctors at the Apapa General Hospital knew what they did and that was why they discharged us quickly so that the baby will die in our hands.â€
She appealed to Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola to come to her aid by assisting her take care of her son.
‘When they saw the wound at the Massey Children’s Hospital, they sent us back. We were again referred to the General Hospital on Lagos Island where we stayed for another three weeks.
“It was in the hospital that we discovered that the child was not developing normally and we protested and they agreed to carry out some tests, but they refused to disclose the results of the tests.â€
“Doctors at the Apapa General Hospital knew what they did and that was why they discharged us quickly so that the baby will die in our hands.â€
She appealed to Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola to come to her aid by assisting her take care of her son.
—Cyriacus Izuekwe
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12 Comments
I feel sorry that this innocent little child has become a victim of the incompetence and complete disregard the medical staff in Nigeria have for patients. i am a medical professional in the USA. I can tell you up front that the baby will be in a permannent vegetative state for the rest of his life because the cranial wound he suffered is much more than we know or rather than what these fools have admitted to. The bac of the cranium contain the BRAIN STEM amongst others. That is why the baby is the way he is. i am sorry to say the brain must have suffered some infection during the trauma of birth. in that case, and since brain cells do not regenerate itself, the baby is permanently incapacitated. I hope THE DOCTORS WILL HAVE THEIR LICENSES REVOKED, PROSECUTED AND JAILED. IT WILL SERVE AS A LESSON TO OTHERS. NIGERIA IS IN TROUBLE WITH THE STATE OF THINGS. may God console the parents of this little boy.
Very sad indeed, my heart really goes to the poor little baby and his innocent family, sad victims of a system that has chronically criminally neglected her health care system, the high and mighty believing in jetting -out for the least medical issues, but the issue is that they need to ponder how effective this will serve in a critical situation. The earlier we all as citizens rise up and look critically at the health care issue in this country and show sincere commitment and will to tacking them devoid of unnecessary politics the better for all of us as a nation, India’s health care that compares to the best any where in the world was nothing to write home about 20 years ago. Talking of motivation of health staff, is it not suicidal for the citizenry to be treated by health staff with obsolete equipments, with remunerations lower than non-skilled/semi-skilled staff of other sectors(most times with that salary owed in arrears, let us check what remerations/incentives obtain in the U.K, U.S & even some third world nations) and working in institutions that lack organisational development in place etc? Or did they commit a crime to choose to practice their skills in their fatherland? The nation needs to wake up to the reality in this sector, it is not about doctors or health staff, it is about our collective survival. Good the doctors in this case owned up to this mistake, better if the innocent family is villified less but instead be comforted and adequately rehabilitated/compensated to ameliorate their unfortunate situation. Let this not be swept under the carpet, there are useful lessons to be learnt to forstall similar occurences in the future.
Please arrange to have the baby sent to India immediately.In Nigeria,this happens everyday and we hardly hear of it.The doctors should have just appealed to the woman and settle out of court with her.
Their claims here are unacceptable by Nigerians please.
what kind of rubbish talk is this dr churning out. well, he can do so cos it is in nigerian. who cares what condition the operation took place, emergency, so any emergency must turn out lousy and with no one accepting full responsibility. Dr pls come practice in america and cut a baby’s scalp and tell the courts the mom chose to treat the baby at home. nonsense talk from a stupid dr. i wont have this sort of man recommend ordinary analgesic for me. a child that should by right be under your care, intensive or whatever until the baby was perfectly ok, and on top, pay the parents for the rubbish you did in the first place. i am angry. very angry
These washup doctors are passing the buck.Why discharge the innocent baby from the hospital ?The mistake was theirs and it was a correctable mistake if proper,urgent and adequate medical attention was rendered.
Time to suit these heartless doctors and the hospital.They are both liable.
It is difficult to explain, but I know spiritually IBB can turn Nigeria around for good. Maybe a forgiving spirit will lead us out of this maze. The forces of darkness made him commit mistake last time so that he would be rejected this time. The truth remains that what he would do if given a chance will crush the devils plans for this nation. This is the voice from above. Mind you I don’t campaign for anybody.
are there no supervisory authority to chk the menance of Doctors and nurses at our public hospitals.They arde lords unto themselves,they no longer have consious,instead of saving lives they now take lives.i lost my very healthy mum in this kindof carelessness at LUTH.All the Doctors are bizmen and own hospitals the take their employment in public hospital as part time job their work as part time bec
Pathetic story, little boy who is a blessing from God and who surpose to be the joy to the family is now the reverse. But our country is really in comatose professionals making these kind of blunders… does it justify why our politicians go abroad for treatment? Well i think we all need spiritual rebirth from the top through to the grassroot. Our land need God’s intervention.
SWEDISH DOCTORS CAN HELP,. I MEAN KAROLINSKA INSTITUTE IN SWEDEN
Was there electricity during the operation or were the doctors blind bats? I once heard of doctors that forgot cotton wool inside a patient and the operation had to be done again. Patients should take legal action. Get a Femi Falana to fight your cause.
Very unfortunate, but if the truth must be told, the rot in our society has spread to all sectors, and the greater fear is that our hospitals are being manned by was-up doctors, who are eager to make it in the fast lane. A visit to some hospitals will open your eyes to the type of people that are managing our health sector. These young doctors will refer you to their accolytes in laboratories to carry out both wanted and unwanted tests, just to get their own cut at the end of the day. This un-necessary, and sometimes unaffordables expenses are scaring patients from govt. hospitals. Some of them hardly give attention to patients. It is that bad and something need to be done before our hospitals will become mogues.
Useless half-baked doctors, with their archaic equipments. This is the result of corruption. Our universities are selling certificates to criminals year in year out. The nation is polluted with poison from our universities. This is the reason we have thieves and killers as politicians. Nigeria is in a mess.