Samaria Hospital, a private medical facility in Lagos, has detained a woman for more than one month over the woman’s failure to pay her bills.
The hospital, which is based in the Ikotun Egbe area of Lagos, has detained Jessica Ugwuoke since August 12, 2015, after the woman and her relatives said they could not afford to pay the bill for her Caesarean section (CS).
Mrs. Ugwuoke was transferred from a maternity clinic to Samaria Hospital, which is located on kudaki Road near Hostel bus stop in Egbe, Lagos State. The patient’s husband, Tochukwu Ugwuoke, was asked to pay N30,000 for blood transfusion into his wife, reported to have lost a lot of blood during labor. The couple’s birth died.
After the loss of her child, Mrs. Ugwuoke has been detained by the hospital for failure to pay the hospital’s bills, which came to N285,000. The detained patient told a correspondent of SaharaReporters that the couple was not informed of the cost of the Caesarean section until after the surgery.
According to her, one Dr. Clem ordered that she be denied a hospital bed and refused her further treatment after her surgery because she and her husband could not pay the amount of the bill.
“The day they discharged me from the bed, Dr. Clem asked me to tell my husband to bring his money even if he [my husband] has to steal,” the woman said. “I have been lying down on the passageway,” Mrs. Ugwuoke added.
The detained patient’s husband, who is currently unemployed, had pleaded with the hospital to release his wife, promising to seek a loan to pay her hospital expenses, but the hospital declined his request.
Mrs. Ugwuoke, who is chained to a urinal pipe to forestall her escape, described her treatment as dehumanizing. She pleaded with the Lagos State government and human rights organizations to intervene to ensure her release.
WTF...is this right for a hospital to do?Hell NO!
Unlawful detention! That hospital go pay tire.
ReplyDeleteImagine the evil...so how will she raise the money.
DeleteI hope so .
DeleteUseless hospital. Is it not enough that she lost her child.
DeleteAs bad as it may seem,i understand d fears of the doctor or owner.
DeleteB4 y'all judge d doctor,u should understand d hospital doesn't run itself.
D owner has staffs and workers to pay.
The thing is most of this said patients won't pay up nor come back back to explain if given the chance to leave.
Some even come to d hospital without money purposely cos they've learnt this trait of begging d doctors and a number of times the are being let to go
I can remember coupla times where I and my colleagues had to foot a patients bill,not once or twice...d question is 4how long? Everybody has what dey do wv money.
Bt na waaa o...y did dey go to a private hospital,iv said it countless of times d tertiary hospitals still remains d best *asides some high tech private hospitals though*. It's cheaper.
But this hospital sha,na waa o...285,000 for cs habaaaa...this kinda bill can send not so financially stable individual into shock
So its lawful to go n use their facility and not pay? When hospitals demand for deposit before anything unable go call them names
DeleteSo they shuld treat her for free? This is why wise hospital management reject them. Why won't they pay for services rendered? Is it the hosp that gave her belle?
DeleteStupid relatives, if she is dead now. Money for burial will come out.
Is the hospital getting free diesel, drugs, don't they pay doctors and nurses.
Keep screaming unlawful detention, next time they will reject a patient and the person dies then you all will come and scream "they shuld have treated her first"
Delete@Elena it's staff not staffs. Thank me later
DeleteWait until you hear what other hospitals are taking for CS.... if it enters emergency CS,more charges sef! Then they begin to count the number of days for you... venture into Vip,Private or semi Private ward,the shock of the bill na story for another day...lol. Hospitals enwero chill these days ooh
DeleteNigerians should better make up their minds about what they want. You either want a lawful society or an unlawful one. You can't pick and choose when to act according to the law or not. Aa far as I know, it is unlawful in Nigeria to detain a citizen against their will.
DeleteYou see why Nigeria will find it difficult to move forward. Nigerians themselves do not think in a lawful manner. If a good lawyer decodes to take on this woman's case, that hospital will be in serious trouble. Later on they will blame the devil and evil people for their woes.
Hey woman! Your husband is jobless and has the effontry to have an erection. How una wan take raise the first?
DeleteKeep hardening the heart of these doctors after they battled to save ur life. I pity the doctor that even admitted you without paying cos if na my hosp, I will sack him after making him pay the bills. It is poor people like you that bring bad light to an establishment, people wey get money no dey make noise.
Samaria hosp, being a good samaritan no dey work for Naija. Am sure other hospitals rejected her before you guys accepted her, next time don't agree except you see money.
Ehhhheeen, change ya name from Samaria to BABYLON make them know say no money for hand, mask for face.
Lol @ "change ya name from Samaria to BABYLON make them know say no money for hand, mask for face."
Delete*sigh* dunno what to say.
ReplyDeleteI can bet that this woman is lying! First of all which maternity clinic were you transferred from? Instead of saying that instead of registering for antenatal, you went to backyard traditional birth attendant and after they killed your baby and almost killed you from plenty blood loss, instead of going to island maternity or govt hospital you decided to go to a private hospital. Why didn't you say that they treated you first and saved your life without asking for money first.
DeleteWhy didn't you post a picture of you chained to the urinary pipe? All this is just to deceive gullible people.
You are the reason many people will die cos am sure that hosp will never accept any patient like you again.
It is people like you that spoil market for Nigerians abroad.
This is just d reason why private hospitals don't treat people till they deposit a sizeable amount of money. First of all,this is a private clinic that has no funding from govt or whatever...they have bills to pay too from monies paid by patients. Why go to a private clinic when u can't afford it? If they don't go ahead to treat her without depositing money and the woman dies,we will still be here attacking them. Now u ve bn treated and u are now saying u weren't told d amount and bla bla bla...ur husband is unemployed and una waka enter private clinic. Where r ur church members?? Ur family and ur relations??? Some people go to private hospital already having it in mind that they will beg to escape payment. Make una fear God oooo.
DeleteTake a picture ? I am sure you are one of the demonic drs
DeleteAunty gwegz, I dey gbadun ur view on ds topic.
DeleteI m also happy there are sizeable number of bv's that are commenting reasonably.
You need to work in a private hosp to know how some patients can bring out the other side of u.they wl say money s not d problem bla bla bla.after the surgery, you wl be pursuing them up and down for ur money.some sef, till today, we hv to offset d bill and some that promised hvnt showed up till today. Tomorrow, some people wl say doctors r wicked, why wont they, when their staff need their salary at d end of d month, plus other amenities and hosp runnings they need to do
And I wont believe she was chained till I see a pic.the woman herself said she has been lyin on the passage way.she never said she was chained.we had two diff patients that tried running away in d nyt.thank God for d ward attendant staff.i mean they hv packed their tins and sneaking away fa.
And they wld hv gone to ALAGBO or rayer houses u and down o before presenting at the last minute expecting a miracle.
Enough said.....Just pissed jare
Me too. Shocked much, don't know what to say. All I think about is the dead baby.
DeleteGod help this woman.
Chained ke? Maka gini? Them doctors need to do time for such barbarism!(if it's true ie)
ReplyDeleteWhy go to a private hospital that you have to pay with your arms and legs for any treatment given to you when you know your financial strength?
DeleteIt is wrong for the hospital management to chain the woman if they truely did but i blame the woman and her his husband for entangling themselves in such.
If this story is true, as it has come to light, help will come soonest.
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TF?
ReplyDeleteThose quack doctors and their dirty dungeon all in the name of clinic fooling illiterates
ReplyDeleteDetained a paitient and she sleep on the passage?
Who does that?
So dehumanizing!
Wicked bunch of animals
Ministry of health should investigate it
Am sure they re not even a registered clinic
Wicked bunch of animals? Really? So they should treat her for free and den they won't have money to take care of their own families? Mtchewww. Why didn't she go to a government hospital? If u don't have wat to say, just fly away
DeleteJasmine am sure flying away higher than u can imagine!
DeleteOpsss!!!I I just drop a pooh on u down there!
Way to get their money is not by ill treatment!
U blabbing can u take that?
So just shush
ITK!
Goddess of dawn be talking trash there, one day it will be your turn and you will see yourself in a hosp that is already wise and Dats how they will turn you back.
DeleteHow many doctors children go to sch free of charge, abi they go to market and say they are doctors and food stuff will fall from d sky.
What job do you do and how many times have you done 280k free job for someone. If you haven't then shut d fuck up and go and pay the lady's bills. Btw, where is the pic of the urinal pipe?
Anonynous it will be ur turn and ur family's turn ihsha Allah!
DeleteU re fool to wish ur generation that
Thwart!
Lols, see as fear catch goddess! Lmao
DeleteThis Anon wicked o
Samaria hospital is now in ikotun, it used to be in okota. Of a pay your bills o, that hospital no get joy at all. They will collect their money to the last dime. Used to be our family hospital.
ReplyDeleteWhat do u mean by dem no get joy at all?
DeleteAre their services suppose to be free? Are they running an NGO?? Smh
Later they would say hospitals don't treat patients first, they ask for deposit.. Nigerians are somehow honestly.
Not their fault. They av bills to pay
DeleteSamaria hospital, you have seen it o. Lesson learnt, next time money first.
DeleteEven ashawo dey bargain before services.
Nigerians, you all are the cause of our problems. Tomorrow now one of us will really need help but can't get for fear of this kinda scenario. Let's not support every accusation esp when they have saved her life.
DeleteMind u, hospitals don't run on charity.
ReplyDeleteGbam!!
DeleteGod bless u jare
DeleteI know they are runing a business Buh chaing her to a pipe WTF
ReplyDeleteShe could have made that up to attract pity. Where is d pics showing her chained?
DeleteNot good at all. What will it take to just let her go? Some doctors sha!
ReplyDeleteLet her go? Who would pay the doctors when they treat everybody for free? When the doctors go on strike over unpaid salaries, you'll be among the first group of people to start screaming for their heads. Go and sit down please.
DeleteU dey mind her? Mtchewww. Do hospitals run a charity organization?
DeleteHaute berry, are you not a fool? How many doctors children will you give scholarship? After spending all night in d hosp, my husband will come and tell me stories. If I hear nonsense eeeeee.
DeleteDo you know how much medical school costs?
And is that even the attitude of someone they will offset bills for? They are not even begging... idiots
Chai!That's why some hospitals will insist on payment before treatment. The husband saying he wasn't informed of the operation cost until after it was done is saying rubbish. Are operations done free?In a private hospital for that matter?The hubby is unemployed, instead of him to go and find something doing, he is busy impregnating woman. All the same, the hospital tying the woman to a pipe to forestall her running away is totally unfair
ReplyDeleteDon't mind him!
DeleteImagine! What does he mean by he wasn't informed about the cost and he is unemployed, he had 9 whole months to find how he go pay his wife bills whenever she puts to bed. Even if na dem local midwives, he should have prepared. No excuse abeg, I know things could be really tough in this country for some, but poor pple who can impregnate find a way to sort out their wives delivery.
Family planning is free in govt hospitals but na only rich people dey even show interest.
DeleteAll these poor jobless men na so so fuck fuck fuck dey born like duck fowl.
The woman didn't register for antenatal until she became an emergency.
Be talking rubbish there until one psychotic nurse go inject you HIV syringe since you want to shut down their hospital.
And for anyone that thinks they shouldn't pay, may you work all your life without pay, may your salary keep entering voice mail. May you labour in vain... if you can't say Amen, then shaaarRrrrrraaaapppp
Lol
DeleteNa wa o!
ReplyDeleteHmnnn...Na wa.
DeleteOdiegwu!
ReplyDeleteLies..if the doctors had left her to die, you all will be the first to rain curses on them...now her live was spared by God through the doctors...fake Sahara reporters are talking rubbish...they should pay the money na...are hospitals charity houses?...am not justifying her been chained to pipe o ...SH shd get their facts right n stop spoiling some one else's biz...CS is expensive nor be today una kwn
ReplyDeleteNa today nyash dey for back? Leave economy go enter first class. Dey speak English "I didn't know I have to pay". Thunder fire you and your jobless husband wey shame no dey catch.
DeleteMy husband is jobless, yet he has the right to have an erection, ewu.
I empathise with u and my heartfelt sympathies to u on ur loss. While chaining her to the urinal pipe might have been extreme, some patients and their relatives can be very funny when it comes to time to settle the bills.
ReplyDeleteIf she was transferred from a mat home for an emcs,am sure d husband and relatives were like "save her life, do the surgery, money isnt the issue blah blah blah" and now they are claiming nobody told them d financial implications of the surgery. Private hospitals are not charity homes neither are they the monsters people label them to be. Desperate times call for desperate measures. I pray help comes to u and ur family though
There is a legal system in our country! Why didn't dey use it? That's taking matters/ d law into their own hands n detaining her. Not fair. We do understand dat no be charity but it isn't a detention cell either
DeleteLegal system in which country? Observer which country biko?
DeleteThe Observer, and I hope the lawyers won't charge the doctor?
DeleteAre you a lawyer, in this kinda case will you represent the doctor for free? If NO then gerrrraaaaraahia and keep granting injunction for thief politicians.
hun???!!!!
ReplyDeleteIt is not right for the hospital to treat her like this.. I believe there are other ways of getting their monies from patients even know 90percent of the time they never recover them!
ReplyDeleteThese hospitals run at losses sometimes because of Nigerians like this. Why did they not register and birth in a government hospital?
Virtually all the hospitals here had an upward review of their charges starting from that period of fuel scarcity.. you will definitely be shocked when bills are served to you,to avoid such shocks,shebi your unemployed self for just enter FMC or other government hospitals go born? This is someone's hustle ooh
*though*
DeleteIf they release her now,they will not pay the money ever again.
ReplyDeleteBut chaining her to a urinary pipe is quite inhumane.
Na wah!
Blood of Zacariah! The thoughts of losing her child alone is agonising, now being chained to a pole or pipe is worst of it all.... Human Conscience is so dead and gone.
ReplyDeleteWho be Zacariah?LOL
DeleteLmao, this anon. Which one is zachariah again! She won't say that the lost her baby in the traditional birth home (so called maternity). They won't even have the guts to challenge those ones.
DeleteUnfortunately, losing her baby won't decrease the bill instead it will even be more expensive. It is easier to deal with a live baby than decayed dead one. So let them pay the bills and stop lying.
This is bad...
ReplyDeleteWhy do these tribe abandon their wives in the hospital? Moneymaker go and get your wife ooooo, hardworking and cant pay 30k, hardworking my ass
ReplyDeleteLmao. U'r nt serious. Money Maker, please come n see dis
Delete@ Juliet na aproko you dey find o. LoooolsssSs.
DeleteIf na burial now, money go show!
Stella abeg call a spade a spade, people run to private hospitals and pretend they don't know they would pay big money. Just bed space in private hospitals are expensive n cost of operation. I worked in the hospital for a while so I know you can't run a hospital on water and thank you. People need to learn to pay their bills.
ReplyDeleteThis may come out insensitive but if the couple want to ask for financial support that is alright but to come n sound like the hospital is being wicked or bad is ridiculous.
Exactly! Let them just come out and ask benevolent Nigerians for support or even the Lagos state govt,instead of painting d hospital black. They already knew what private hospitals entail and I am sure wen she was brought in,they were chanting "just go ahead and treat her,money is not the problem"... Now she is okay and their tune has changed. World people!
DeleteExactly, and it is because people have done done it before and the owners of the hosp were bullied into silence.
DeleteDats why most doctors just reject the patient outrightly, even the ones that can pay. It is so sad cos anything can happen to anyone and no one moves around with bank account so let these doctors trust us!
I notice the humanitarian attached to the job of a medical practitioners has been wipe out. If not,this woman will not be chain wen she is not a criminal.
ReplyDeleteRefusing to pay her bills is a criminal act. We don't know how much the hospital has lost before they decided to chain her and I really don't believe she was chained. People always want to be pitied.
DeleteDesperate times calls for desperate measures
Define criminal! You think one needs to do dread locks and carry gun first before becoming a criminal?
DeleteShe has obtained treatment in false pretence. Why go to a private hospital when she knows her husband is a jobless he goat?
Can you go to d bank and beg them to give you someone's cash to save his life, will they give it to you? Will you call them inhuman and arrest them?
She and her husband re no different from yahoo boys!
Where was lagos state govt and NGOS when they were battling to save your life.
ReplyDeleteWhy don't you post a picture of yourself and the urinary pipe.
You are looking for pity now and won't say the truth.
God bless u for saying d truth.
DeleteIs wrong but d are not charity organization and besides the Doc that admited her may not be d owner of d hospital and would be forced to cough out d money for d owner of d hospital. I can't condemn him cos I know of a Doc that treated a cultist or wat dat was in dire need of treatment but he did not pay and d Doc dat treated him had to use his money to pay. And he told us d story angrily cos it happened during his house manship.D hospital is into biz and will pay salaries etc
ReplyDeleteEven after they lost d child? Can't deal biko
ReplyDeleteSo urinal pipe is on the passage way. Where is the picture?
ReplyDeleteWs d hospital wrong 4 detaining d wman in d 1st place over unpaid bills?.
ReplyDeleteNa lawyers go fit determine dis mata ooooo.
In stories like this, I also like to look at things from the hospital's point of view. Nigerians have this funny sense of entitlement. This couple most likely were told the cost of surgery and knowing fully well they can't produce that sum, must have told the doctor"go ahead, I will pay", hoping that if they beg afterwards the doctor will write off the bill. It's people like this that make doctors request for payment upfront. The hospital's way of going about this is wrong ,no doubt, but this attempt to vilify the hospital and "Dr Clem" is also not proper. My two cents.
ReplyDeleteYes, she can be held until she pays her bill even in government hospital u will not be discharged until your bills re paid. What I don't like is the chaining part.
ReplyDeleteShe must have true to escape or done something drastic on previous occasions, hence the chain I believe.
DeleteThey had no right to chain her
DeleteSpeechless....
ReplyDeleteThe doctors have done their best to save her life, d husband and d relatives should run round to raise some thing, at all at all na bad pass, chaining her is not good at all.
ReplyDeleteIt is people like this that cause bad market for other patients in case of an emergency.
ReplyDeleteIts unfortunate they lost their baby but thank God the mother is ok. If tomorrow the hospital refuses to attend to a patient without upfront payment we will all scream that they are mean and should save life first but they get lots of cases where people try to shy away from paying their bills. Whether the man is jobless or not is irrelevant, They had 9 months to run around and raise money for hospital bill and child care and should have gone to a govt hospital where bills are lower since they knew they may have to borrow.
There is primary health care centre in every ward in Nigeria n they have qualified nurses n way cheaper, if u can't afford a private hospital, why go to one? How come the couple are not working n at same time trying to raise a family? That's pure irresponsibility.
ReplyDeleteThank you
DeleteEeeeya....
ReplyDeleteBoth got My sympathy.
Especially d woman.
It's a tough one....
She was transfered from anoda hospital and wasn't told d cost....
The Hospital needs money to run.
Poor woman! !and d said baby stil died.
Some got it real tough in dis unfair world of ours.
Pipo will just do things without looking back..If rapture take place now that kind doctor and the pipo wey other her detention where would they be...May God save us all Amen.
ReplyDeleteAnd the woman's jobless husband that got her pregnant without having a means of livelihood will be in heaven abi? Do you even know that it is considered a SIN in the bible for a man that cannot provide for his family?
DeleteThat woman that wants to repay good with evil will rapture too abi?
Thirdly, you wey dey read this post and not using your last savings to go and bail her out is as guilty too. If you are serious about rapture, go and bail her with your last card and if you don't have money volunteer to work for them as a cleaner until rapture comes! Hehehehe
Na untop person money you wan do rapture. Park well.
Meanwhile, since rapture wuld have taken place, why bothering to take her to hosp. They for leave her to die at home so it will reduce the load of life rapture.
Some people be talking like Satan! Abeg no make me comit sin o.
Loooooooooooools, people get mouth for this life. Am sure you are the same anon wey cuss Goddess of Dawn, she fear by force!
DeleteYou don commit sin finish ooooo.
Lmao
Funny how pple r screaming the doctor is wicked. The bible clearly says a labourer is worthy of his pay.
DeleteI do not believe ur story madam, until I see a picture of u in chains. Samaria clinic is my family hospital and d layout of that place doesn't make it possible for u to be chained to d urinal pipe. U r just looking for pity and trying to tarnish the hispital's image. I intend to visit d clinic tomorrow and ascertain ur story. I will give a feedback on dis story, Stella. The doc of Samaria clinic is so nice, I wonder how he makes gain sef, mtschew!
ReplyDeleteGod bless you! We await your reports.
DeletePeople be bitting the fingers that fed them and someone is here preaching rapture. They didn't think of rapture when they were having sex!
Stella boo, is nor every time comment, sometimes we just want to like a comment and go on. You should think of the like button.....*In jenifa's voice* khizzes
ReplyDeleteThis is the reason I advice every expectant couple to keep money for emergency cases like this...
ReplyDeleteOnce your wife takes in start saving for CS somehow, even though we all Pray for normal deliver
Cs in private hospital is no beans....
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ReplyDeleteHaba, people should fear God o, hosp are not run on paper nau, what happened to a govt hosp? If my husband works in that hosp and comes home at the end of the month to give me story, my spirit no go pray for that couple. Getting pregnant on top joblessness and wickedness walahi.
ReplyDeleteNa*
ReplyDeleteThey they, what about you? Your own na to come comment for blog.
ReplyDeleteWho are the they? Sacrificial lamb?
Shut up if you can't do anything.
Please how can i have the contact of the patient or her husband? they need help and not some comments made, the hospital deserves to be paid at least for saving her life, though the measure they took is wrong . If this is true, all we need is little contribution to save the situation.
ReplyDelete