• How Lagos hospital made me lose my only son – Mother
  • We await police probe report – Clinic

By Lawrence Enyoghasu

Stella Bakare is heartbroken and it seems all she holds dear in life has fallen apart. The death of her only son, Tobi has thrown her into deep sorrow. And there is nothing more to live for. But she believes that her story would have been different if the hospital, Duro Soleye Hospital had hearkened to her words.

The tall black lady is most hurt from how the hospital treated her and her son. She alleged that from the first minute she stepped into the hospital, the nurses’ alleged lackadaisical attitude was the early signal that all might not end well but she persevered because a family member referred her there.

From complaint about the room, lack of stretcher, late replacement of oxygen canister, to, late explanation of the effect of light on the boy’s sickness, meningitis, Stella holds the hospital responsible for the death of her 14-year-old-son.

“In the morning on the 10th of last month, on a good day I have my own hospital but my aunt advised me to go to Duro Soleye and I agreed not minding the charges. All I wanted was my son to be okay.

“When we got there, we were taken to the emergency ward, afterward two doctors came to see us. I explained the situation that he was just having a headache. Then they crossed examined him diagnosing that he was suffering from meningitis. It was then they told me that he was going to be admitted. I called the nurse to give me a stretcher but she answered rudely that if I was his mother I would back him. I backed him with the help of an old woman. We were taken to a temporary room,” she stated

Thereafter, she said, it took eternity for the room to be prepared. Until she raised her voice, she was kept in the temporary room which she said had cracked and allows mosquitoes in.

“It was around 6:30 pm then they said that the woman was going to leave around 7:30 pm. By 8:30 pm, we were still not taken to the main room. I shouted before they obliged.

“On that same day, I was given a paper to go for Echo scan. I begged them to arrange the test; we could not do the test because it was on a Saturday. I begged for help. The doctor then agreed to make a call to book me for Monday. He did this after his duty was over, on his way home, some hours after we have agreed.

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“On Sunday, the first trouble was that I was running helter-skelter for the drip because the drip was always stopping. They also put him on oxygen. When they put the first one, a nurse quickly noticed that it was almost finished and she changed it. When it was Monday, I was happy I was going to go for the Echo scan. After some hours, I started disturbing them for the scan, I could not carry the boy because he was on oxygen. They said I should go and rent a cab but I complained that I could not see a cab and they then said they would call the ambulance of the another hospital but I would have to pay.

“As I wait for the ambulance and the scan diagnosis, I was handed a paper to get one injection, Recophine. When we returned from the scan, the doctor said we are lucky, we were happy. In the evening of that same day, I told a lady doctor on night duty, Dr Korede and the nurses that the oxygen would soon finish which needs to be changed to avoid midnight exhaustion while they may be asleep. They insisted that the oxygen remains small so they would not change it. The oxygen finished when everyone was asleep, no one came to check him, as a result nobody knew when the oxygen finished,” she stated. 

But in the effort to replace the canister, she suspected foul play. She said she was shoved aside to allow them to work. After all was done, she was given the shocker of her life, Stella who has been in the hospital since 10th of June was told on 13th June that electric light has a dangerous effect on meningitis patient. She wept but prayed for all to be well.

“When I discovered, I called for them to change the oxygen canister, after many failed attempts by one Dr Korede and others, they called one elderly man to help and they fixed it. One of them called for rubber, it was as if the pipe cut. I was shouting and calling God for help.

After they fixed that, they said, they will put off the light, that the light has been affecting the ailment.  I was bitter because I have been there for like two days and nobody told me that the light has been harmful to him.  And that the machine they have been using to clean his throat has also been contributing to the convulsion he has been having”, she stated. 

Being an anxious mother, Stella said she was not comfortable not seeing his son’s face, so she turned on the light to find out that the boy has not given up the ghost. “After they have left, I was not comfortable not seeing my child’s face. I dozed off a little but when I woke up, I put on the light and I didn’t like how I met him, I called for Dr Korede and she came and said that he was dead. Immediately, she blamed me for switching on the light,” she stated

Meanwhile, Saturday Sun gathered that Dr. Korede has told the police that the death of the boy was caused by meningitis and that all claims of unprofessional conducts are false, even as all parties in the controversy await autopsy report. 

Hospital reacts

When Saturday Sun visited the hospital, after waiting for some minutes, the reporter was directed to one Dr. Kasali who then led the reporter to see another doctor, a fair skinned man, who declined to give his name. He claimed he could speak for the hospital but quickly backtracked, saying “the matter is with the police and they are investigating it. We are not going to give our own side of the story, we will wait for the police report and then there is probability that the matter will go to court, then the law will take its course.”