The management of Ilogbo Central Hospital in the Ajangbadi area of Lagos State are currently in trouble for removing the womb of a pastor’s wife identified as Chinasa Rockson during childbirth.
The woman’s husband, Chinedu Rockson, who is a pastor with a Pentecostal ministry in the state, cried out over how the hospital also damaged his wife’s bladder during the process.
He said the hospital also detained his 42-year-old wife over the payment of N50,000, and that they have frustrated all efforts to offset the bill.
The mother of four was said to have been referred to the hospital where they carried out a Caesearean Section on her upon her husband’s approval on August 26, 2016.
Chinedu explained that some hours into the operation, he was called into the theatre to sign another document, adding that nobody told him it was for the removal of his wife’s womb, Punch reports.
He said: “They charged N200, 000 for the operation and we negotiated for N150,000. I paid a deposit of N30,000 and they started the operation.
“They asked me to sign some papers, which I did. Some hours later, a surgeon said there had been complications and I would need to sign another document. He didn’t tell me what I was signing for or the implications. Because I was in a haste to get my wife saved, I signed the document.
“After some time, they brought out my wife from the theatre with a pipe attached to her bladder. We became worried when we discovered that few days afterwards, they didn’t remove the pipe.
“After a week, they said I should come and clear my bill of N50,000 so they could discharge her. I called a senior pastor, who presented them with a cheque. But they said they would keep her for the two weeks that the cheque would be ready to be cashed.”
The woman’s sister-in-law who visited the victim at the hospital, asked the management why they had not removed the pipe yet.
The hospital was said to have opened up that Chinansa’s womb had been removed and her bladder damaged.
“They said she cannot control her urine without the pipe. That was when I realised what had happened,” Chinedu said.
The pastor lamented that his wife’s medical condition had worsened, adding that he could neither afford the hospital bill nor take her back home in her present condition.
Lawyer to the Rockson family, Chris Ogbedeneto, in a petition to the state Commissioner of Police, Fatai Owoseni, called for an investigation into the case.
He said, “Why should there be a second signing? They scared the husband with the sight of his wife in a pool of blood and did not let him know what he was signing for. What is the relationship between the womb and the bladder and why does the hospital’s director now want to discharge the woman when it is obvious that her life is in danger?
“The doctor’s action can breach the peace of the community if urgent actions are not taken. Our client feels debased and suffers a mental and psychological trauma on realising that the wife’s womb has been cut off and the bladder affected without his consent and his wife cannot control her urine anymore.”
In reaction to the claims of the couple who hails from Anambra State, the hospital said they didn’t do any wrong thing as the woman was already in a bad condition when she was admitted.
A director at the hospital, Dr Femi Obileyi, said: “We are known for standard in the area where we operate and that is why we enjoy a lot of patronage. The woman in question had been mismanaged ab initio. She burst her womb in the first hospital where she registered. They pressed her womb to force the baby out and that action ruptured the womb. When she was brought to us, she was bleeding because the labour had become obstructed.
“We discovered that to save her life, we would need to do a surgery. At surgery, we discovered that her uterus had burst, which had also affected her bladder. We first stopped the bleeding and then made some repairs. It was after all these that we discovered she could not control her urine.
“When they came to us, they had issues with money, which we didn’t allow to be a barrier. We admitted her and did everything possible to save her life. We can’t imagine that after saving her life, the family will turn around to fight us.
“The man was called in when the attempts to repair the womb proved abortive. He was informed that the tear was serious and we had to save her life. We did that to carry him along, and he gave his consent.”
