Anambra: Widow cries out as hospital detains daughter over N1.8m bill

A widow, Mrs Grace Izuogu, has decried the alleged detention of her daughter, Chidera, in a private hospital in Nkwelle-Ezunaka, in the Oyi Local Government Area of Anambra State, over her inability to pay the N1.8m medical bill, The Punch said.

This comes after the 200-level student was admitted to the hospital over an injury she sustained more about four months ago.

Narrating her ordeal on Thursday in Onitsha, Grace said she had already paid part of the initial N3m bill, adding that efforts to raise the rest had been futile, according to The Punch.

She said, “My daughter got injured on July 10, 2020 after stepping on a sharp iron used as a bridge to cross drainage in front of our house.

“She was rushed to a nearby hospital for first aid treatment and with the assistance of a catholic priest, she was transferred to the present place, where she has been for about four months now.

“On October 24, she was discharged, even though she could not walk with the leg. I was able to raise N500,000, which was deducted from the N3m as an advance payment before the doctor commenced treatment.

“The doctor later deducted N580,000, remaining N1.8m. He vowed that we would not leave the hospital until we finish the bill.”

The widow said she was in pains because her daughter’s examinations were fast-approaching, adding that her plea to the doctor to allow the patient to go for her exams had failed.

She said she had petitioned the state governor’s wife, Chief Ebelechukwu Obiano and the state commissioner for women and children affairs over the matter.