Pastor tackles Lagos hospital for removing wife’s womb and damaging her bladder during childbirth

A pastor with a Pentecostal ministry,
Chinedu Rockson, has accused the management of Ilogbo Central Hospital
in the Ajangbadi area of Lagos State of removing his wife’s womb and
damaging her bladder during childbirth.

 Chinedu said the hospital also detained
his wife over the payment of N50,000, adding that efforts to clear the
bill had been frustrated by the hospital.

PUNCH Metro learnt that
Chinedu’s wife, Chinansa, had been referred to the hospital on August
26, 2016, after she could not be delivered of the baby at the hospital
where she had her antenatal care.

The hospital reportedly commenced a
caesarean section on the 42-year-old after her husband signed some
documents to perfect the terms.

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.

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.”

PUNCH Metro gathered that a sister-in-law, who visited the victim at the hospital, asked the management why the pipe had yet to be removed.

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 realized 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.

It was learnt that the couple, who are
indigenes of Anambra State, married in 2002 and had four children,
including the newborn baby.

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.”

The hospital, in its reaction, denied any wrong doing in the matter, saying Chinansa was in a bad shape when she was admitted.

A director at the hospital, Dr Femi
Obileyi, said the mother of four could have died but for the quick
intervention of the hospital.

He 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.”