Beady Nnanna, a producer and publisher, told The PUNCH that her sister, Blessing Okolie, lost her life due to alleged medical negligence by a doctor who reportedly left a pair of scissors in her stomach during fibroid surgery at a private hospital in Lagos State.
Narrating how her sister died, Beady Nnanna said that the hospital where the operation was carried out was not standard, explaining that everything about it did not meet acceptable standards. She recounted that on March 28, very early in the morning, the staff came to inform her sister that it was time for surgery. She stated that Blessing entered the theatre at exactly 7:22 am, and they remained there until 11:49 am.
According to The Punch, she explained that after the surgery, her sister was brought out of the theatre and laid on a bench, where she appeared weak and barely responsive. She added that she had to clean her sister’s mouth herself because she was exhausted. When she asked the doctor about her condition, she said he told her that Blessing would recover and advised her to keep calling her name. According to her, whenever she called, Blessing would slightly open her eyes but was unable to speak.
She further stated that they stayed there for about four to five hours before the hospital staff suggested giving her tea and milk, which she strongly objected to, questioning how such drinks could be given to someone who had just undergone surgery. She said a woman named Oloma, who had recommended the hospital, insisted that she had also been given tea after her own surgery, but she maintained her objection. Instead, she suggested that if anything was to be given, it should be Lipton and hot water. She added that the staff explained that her sister needed energy to climb the staircase since the theatre was downstairs and the ward upstairs.
Narrating what happened afterward, she said the nurse and Oloma proceeded to give Blessing the tea and later returned around 8:30 am to move her upstairs. She expressed surprise that they expected someone who had just undergone surgery to walk, noting that it was normal for such a patient to be in pain.
On when she began to suspect that something was seriously wrong, she said that by Sunday, Blessing was able to talk and even received visitors, and on Monday, she was still talking but complained of abdominal pain. She continued that by Tuesday, her condition had worsened, and by Wednesday, her stomach began to swell. She said she contacted the doctor to inquire about the swelling, but he dismissed her concerns, insisting that there was no problem.
She explained that she insisted on conducting a scan to determine the cause of the swelling, but the doctor refused, maintaining that nothing was wrong. She added that despite being given injections and placed on a drip, the swelling persisted through Wednesday and Thursday. She said she repeatedly demanded a scan, but the medical staff dismissed her concerns and accused her of trying to teach them their job. She concluded that although they questioned what would happen if the scan showed nothing, she maintained that she only wanted to be certain because she was deeply worried about her sister’s condition.
Further talking, she said, “I never thought of scissors when she was complaining about that pain in the side of the stomach. I was even thinking that they had harvested one of her organs, so I kept begging for a scan, but they refused.
“She had the surgery on Saturday, and almost a week after the surgery, she was still in serious pain. They then brought out a pipe, put it in her nose, and started draining something greenish out of her stomach.
“I said, ‘Doctor, let’s have a scan.’ But they kept saying, ‘What is wrong with this woman? Do you want to teach us our job?’ I told them that I just wanted to be sure that nothing was wrong. Blessing’s health worsened to the point that she couldn’t even stand up.
“At one point, they said we should stop giving her anything. We even stopped giving her water, and she was there without water or anything. That was for ten days after the surgery.”
She recounted that a new doctor later came to see her sister, noting that it was the first time she had seen him. She said he asked her questions, and as she explained the situation, she realised that the hospital lacked basic medical supplies for patients.
She stated that after informing the doctor that she had been requesting a scan for over a week, he instructed that one be carried out and gave her a referral letter to conduct it at another facility.
According to her, when she got to the lab they were directed to, she was told that the facility had not conducted such scans for over two years. She added that the nurse accompanying her suggested they return to the hospital, but she became angry and refused, insisting that she would not go back without completing the scan.
She explained that they eventually went to Clinix, where the scan was conducted at a cost of over ₦90,000. She said that upon reviewing the result, it revealed that a metal object was inside her sister’s stomach, below the abdomen.
She noted that upon seeing the result, she broke down in tears and immediately took Blessing back to the hospital. She added that one of the personnel at the scan centre advised her to return quickly because her sister’s condition had already deteriorated……See More
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