Crime News
Hearbroken Husband Narrates How Wife Died At Public Hospital In Lagos After Nurses Ignored Her
Nov 5, 2015 – Heartbroken Husband Narrates How Wife Died At Public Hospital In Lagos After Nurses Ignored Her
When Omowumi Shonuga tapped her husband that her water had broken at 5 am on Thursday morning, being a sign of labour pain, anxiety took hold of him. Although he, Ayobanji Shonuga, was remotely happy that his second child was about to be born, he was as nervous as many men would be in that situation.
As the wife’s labour pains increased, the 33-year-old man quickly packed his baby’s things and rushed her to the Rauf Aregbesola Health Centre in Egbeda. Alimosho Local Government Area of Lagos.
His joy and hope began to diminish when he got to the health centre and found out that the hospital gates were locked.
Shonuga said,
“We got to the hospital around 5 am to meet the hospitals locked. I horned and horned, nobody came out. After a while a woman came out and said there was no doctor to attend to me, that I should take her to the Igando General Hospital.
“I said it was impossible for a doctor not to be on duty in a hospital as big as this. She ignored any other enquiry I was trying to make. As I got back to my car, I saw that my wife had delivered the baby and that she was in a pool of blood and she was also bleeding. It was when I started shouting, ‘Blood! Blood! Baby’ that two nurses rushed out from the hospital.”
Shonuga related the ordeal that Omowunmi went through in the hands of health workers at the health centre last week to our correspondent, saying the hospital’s negligence had turned him into a widower.
Instead of coming to his wife’s aid, Shonuga alleged, the nurses blamed him for not shouting loud enough to have attracted their attention to get the keys to open the gate .
“After they opened the gate, I drove in. One of the attendants picked the baby, but the nurses refused to touch my wife. I asked for a stretcher to take her in, they said they didn’t have. I asked for an ambulance to take her away from there, they said they were not with the keys.
“I had to carry her upstairs with no help from them because they didn’t want to touch her. They said there was no doctor to attend to her.”
After much persuasion from him, the nurses told him to go and buy some injections and drugs that would stop the bleeding while they began stitching a cut his wife had.
“She was shouting that the pain was too much while they were stitching her but they kept telling her to keep quiet. I knew something was wrong and told them to get a doctor. They said he was on his way,” he added.
Shonuga said that in spite of the stitches, Omowunmi did not stop bleeding and the doctor who came in while they were cleaning her up said they should take her to the Igando General Hospital as her case was too critical for them to handle.
“ He looked at her eyeballs and said that she had lost a lot of blood and would need to be transfused but they could not do that at that moment.
“ I asked again for the ambulance so I could take her to Igando. They said they didn’t have the keys yet. It was just packed there doing nothing. It was then I asked after my baby. They kept quiet. Later, someone went out to check the room the baby was supposed to be and said the baby was no longer breathing.
“It was obvious that they abandoned the baby. I went in to carry my wife with the drip on her but insisted that they must give me a referral note and a nurse to go with me to Igando so that her case could be treated as an emergency.
“They refused until their supervisor instructed them to go with me when she heard me shouting. It took another 25 minutes before they came with a note and one of the members of staff went with me,” Shonuga lamented.
No bed space, please go to another hospital
It was a similar scenario that played out when Shonuga got to the Igando General Hospital with Omowunmi around 6am on the same day.
She was rejected. Shonuga said the nurses told them to go to another hospital as there was no bed space to admit his dying wife.
“For another 45 minutes, we couldn’t get a bed. After I threw a tantrum that attracted some attention, they began running up and down and said they had created a bed space for her.
“They took her blood sample and insisted that they wouldn’t transfuse her till I had paid N20,000. We argued again that it was an emergency that they should go ahead but at this stage she was already losing consciousness. While they were trying to secure a drip for her, she died.”
Shonuga told our correspondent that he buried his late wife and his newborn baby later that day.
Omowunmi , a graduate of Accounting from the Lagos State University, died at the age of 30, leaving a three- year-old baby girl behind.
Still shaken by the circumstances that led to his wife’s death, Shonuga said he would petition authorities of the public hospitals and vowed that he would not relent until justice was served.
According to the widower, Omowunmi and his baby would have been alive if health workers at the two hospitals had given them the speedy attention they deserved.
“The most painful thing for me is that she suffered so much before she died. She cried and bled on and on, but that did not even move them. There was no doctor on duty and they could not give me an ambulance to handle her case.
“I only took her there because that was where she had her antenatal and they knew her and her health history. If I had known I would have taken her to a private hospital.”
When contacted, the Medical Officer, Alimosho Local Government, Dr. Micheal Ariyibi, said that the Ministry of Health had received a complaint and had begun an investigation into the case. The ministry, he said, would not hesitate to punish those involved in the unfortunate incident.
Ariyibi said,
“The report is with the Ministry of Health already and we are trying to investigate who and who were involved. I’m assuring you that they will not go unpunished.”
The Director of Information at the ministry, Mrs. Deola Salako, corroborated Ariyibi’s claims, saying that an investigative panel had been sent to the health centres involved and any one found to have contributed to the deaths would be sanctioned.
[Reported By PunchNg]
Duru James
November 5, 2015 at 11:14 PM
mr man shut the f***k up you killed her.
No responsible man carry his wife to public hospital for delivery anymore.
The nurses and doctors there are goats
Amanda
November 6, 2015 at 1:01 AM
You are very rude, believe that.
mercybee
November 6, 2015 at 2:12 PM
You must be a mad man for posting this type of comment to a man mourning. Am not sure you have a gfriend talk less of having a wife n children.
Cee Jay
March 28, 2017 at 3:15 PM
@ Duru James… you are simply an ****
femi
November 5, 2015 at 11:42 PM
DURU JAMES OR WHAT IS YOUR NAME?TRY AND APPLY COMMON SENSE WHEN CONTRIBUTING TO SENSITIVE ISSUE LIKE THIS,IT NOT UNDER MUST THAT U MUST COMMENT,IF U DON’T HAVE ANY TANGIBLE CONTRIBUTION U SHOULD JUST READ LIKE A FREE READER AND SHUT YOUR HAND DOWN IDIOT,SECONDLY SO SORRY MR SHONUGA FOR THE LOST OF YOUR WIFE AND THE NEW BORN BABY,WHAT YOU JUST EXPERIENCE IS THE MAIN KEY OF NIAJA PROBLEM AND ONLY GOD WILL SOLVE IT,OUR COUNTRY RESOURCES CAN PROVIDE ENOUGH FREE MEDICAL TREATMENT BUT THE GREEDY ONE’S AT THE TOP WILL NOT ALLOW IT TO HAPPEN AND THIS IS WHY MOST OF GRADUATE WILL TRAVEL OUT AND VOW NOT TO LIVE IN NAIJA AGAIN BECAUSE THE WESTERN WORLD CHERISH LIFE’S AND THEY WILL PROTECT IT WITH QUICK AND PERFECT GOOD TREATMENT FREE OF CHARGE,I JUST PRAY TO GOD TO SUPPORT YOU AND LET YOU REGAIN ALL BACK BUT IS NOT EASY TO FORGET THE SAD EXPERIENCE EASILY,MAY HER SOUL REST IN PERFECT PEACE WITH YOUR NEW BORN BABY.
Gracie
November 6, 2015 at 12:57 AM
This is so pathetic. I don’t know when all these will end. Oh my God, it is so sad.I am short of words. I am close to tears. Lord have mercy! This will never happen in the US. Once you have an emergency, you call 911, ambulance comes and pick up the sick person, everything is taken care of, from then on. Although you will get the bill afterwards, but emergency is treated like an emergency. I am not sure Nigeria has gone through electronic health records, meaning medical record can be accessed online, the stupid nurses didn’t need to take blood samples to know patient’s blood type, everything is easily accessible once you put in the patient name, birthday, etc. I know suing will not bring back your family, but it should serve as a lesson to others. In US, you can loose a job for yelling at a patient, not to talk of all these nonsense. My dear brother Shonuga, God is your strength
Cee Jay
March 28, 2017 at 3:14 PM
Thank you Grace for the soothing words to Mr Shonuga. May the souls of departed rest in peace.
T
November 6, 2015 at 3:54 AM
May her soul rest in peace, when is this going to end, if this happen here USA this man will turn to millionaire, in fact no hospital that will try it, apart from been sued, they will all go to jail, that is the reasons they always try their best, it’s not that patient doesn’t died but it won’t be negligence .
Temple
November 6, 2015 at 7:08 AM
Duru James,u are a big fool..idiot
Martins
November 6, 2015 at 8:36 AM
I will not blame the husband as he did what normal people would do. The problem is that nurses and doctors in health centres are not working and they are monsters. They know nothing about their ethics of their profession. My mother died due to wrong medications at Agbor Health Centre in Delta. Before my mother’s death, three women died. Public health centres are no good place for proper medical care. I feel for his loss and I pray he is vindicated at the end of the investigation.
EXCEL
November 6, 2015 at 9:51 AM
AM SO WEAK AFTER READING THIS STORY. WHAT A GREAT LOSS! MOTHER AND CHILD DIED AT THE SAME TIME. I ALWAYS SAY THAR SOME NURSES ARE WICKED AND HEARTLESS, THEY DON’T VALUE LIVES. MR AYOBANJI, I FEEL UR PAIN, I PRAY THAT GOD WILL GIVE YOU THE GRACE TO BEAR UR LOSSES. PLEASE GOD, GIVE OUR NAIJA NURSES A GOOD HEARTH.
Tina kenneth
November 6, 2015 at 10:06 AM
Oh my God. my Eyes is full of tears. May the lord pay the nurses and any body dat is involve the punishment they deserve. had it been that the nurses tried their best and and she latter still died. that one should have been more bearable than to see her died carelessly. its too painful. May her soul rest in perfect .
omolabake
November 6, 2015 at 10:16 AM
It hurts my heart each time a woman dies during child birth. I don’t know why some people choose to be doctors or nurse if they lack the empathy to care for people.May her soul rest in peace
EGBERRI MAMA 1
November 6, 2015 at 10:39 AM
MR SHONUGA, MAY U BE DIVINELY COMFORTED .AM REALLY SHORT OF WORDS .OLUWA WILL GIVE U D FORTITUDE TO BEAR DIS , AND D GRACE AND FAVOUR TO CARE 4 UR 1ST CHILD .I,VE BEING LONGING TO ASK IF NURSES ARE GIVEN A PARTICULAR INJECTION OF GRADE 1 WICKEDNESS. D WHOLE OF LAGOS SHUD AVOID DIS HOSPITAL, IN-FACT , D SO-CALLED KILLING CENTRE CALLED HOSPITAL SHUD BE LOCKED UP 4 COMPLETE 1 YR.D NIGHT NURSING CERTIFICATES OF D NURSES ON-DUTY SHUD BE CEASED 4 5YRS AND LET THEM GO BACK TO SCH .IF A MEDICAL DOC WAS NOT REALLY STATIONED AT D HOSPITAL DAT NIGHT BY D DIRECTOR , D CERTIFICATE OF D DIRECTOR MUST BE CEASED .INSTEAD OF APC TO BUSY THEMSELVES INCHANGING SOCIAL-HEALTH ANMINITIES LIKE THIS , THEY ARE BUSY PORK-NOSING IN PAST SPLIT-MILK .THEY PROMISED CHANGING EVERY EVIL WITHIN 1MONTH , 6MONTHS DON COMPLETE , THEY ARE STILL BLAMING PEOPLE .WAS AMEACHI , FASHOLA AND TINUBU NOT IN D PAST GOVTS ? WHAT DID THEY DO TO ERADICATE SUCH ? .CHANGING 4 WORSE WITH INCONSIDERATE CRIMINALS .
Justin
November 6, 2015 at 12:49 PM
It is quite unfortunate for somebody to go through this kind of ordeal in the hands of fellow human being who called themselves doctors and nurses,dont they have conscience?Or are they not there to save lives?.Mr Shonuga the God almighty will comfort you on the death of your wife and child. The reward of what they have done to you will surely await them on the last day.
atr
November 6, 2015 at 4:06 PM
Maybe Duru James is one those that own private hospitals, they maltreat patients in govt hospitals so that their own clinic can be patronized. God dey o. Authorities must ensure justice as promised. Those involved should be relieved of their jobs since they have lost interest in it.
Salau Yetunde
November 6, 2015 at 4:14 PM
U pple are just shouting nurses,u’ve forgotten in a government hospital,u shouldn’t go beyond ur limit. Nurses responsibilities is quite different from the doctors though some nurses are bad ooo but most people didn’t understand whatz going in the health sector
Uzoma
November 6, 2015 at 9:29 PM
This is unthinkable. The irresponsible nurses are to blame. What then is their duty? Do they want to say they don’t know what to do in such circumstance even if no doctor was around? no midwife around? In a whole hospital no doctor was around? This is what corruption has caused Nigeria from Abacha and before till now. Here such thing will not happen, and if it does, the hospital and those responsible will pay and in addition go to jail. Donald Trump was right when he said Africa should be recolonized for the next 100 years. His reason, “they are poor because their leaders embezzle the money meant to develop their place and run overseas to buy properties” he further said “if the money those leaders embezzle is used for development of their countries, there will be no hunger in those places”. He is right.
Jilo
November 6, 2015 at 10:38 PM
@ Shonuga i’m deeply sorry for the sudden death of your wife and newly born. May God give you courage to endure the loss. This what we have been talking about. Some Countries do not have what we in terms of resources yet they provide adequate health care for their citizens. That is why some other developed nations are looking down on us because given us all necessary resources to better ourselves, we will never make use of it. Look at our law makers for example instead of going to work and deliberating on how to move this nation forward, they are wasting their time to follow Saraki. We are one of the top most uncivilized Country in the whole world. Having money to buy good things like latest cars, clothing and other worldly thing does not mean anything where citizens are dying of simple ailment. The money they are sharing can be channeled towards provision of health care. Holland is the best Country in the whole world where all citizens enjoy the same health care system. If you are a doctor, politician, professor, cleaner all enjoy the same health system. A janitor can have the same Doctor just like a senator. The way they did it is what we should ask them.
faihi
November 9, 2015 at 7:31 PM
Duru is right in a way,thats just d bitter truth,while readin I had dis anger towards d husband,why will u waste all that time on fools that r not capable of delivering a baby,d time wasted there was enough to get to another hospital,of cos he didn’t know wat labour pain is,thats why he didn’t know exactly what d woman was going through else he wouldn’t have wasted so much time wit those gits,i blame d husband totally,if u can afford a car why can’t u be able to register ur wife in a good hospital??????,my heart goes out to d innocent girl that’s been made motherless!!!!