Lagos Hospital, Frustrates Family’s Effort To Resolve Death of A 12 Year Old After Blood Transfusion
… As Hospital Slow Response unsettle parents
A 12-year-old girl who would have turned 13 on December 25 has died in Lagos after a blood transfusion at a private hospital, Timoteik hospital, Alapere, Ketu, with her family alleging medical negligence.
The girl, according to a family source, returned from school on Thursday with mild fever and body weakness. Her parents took her to their family hospital where tests showed her blood level was 20 percent. They were referred to the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, LASUTH, for further evaluation.
At LASUTH on Friday morning, tests were conducted and medications including blood-boosting drugs were prescribed. The parents were given a return date of Tuesday, October 19.
The child was said to be stable on Saturday but developed fever and weakness again on Sunday after church service.
Her parents then rushed her to a private hospital near their residence. Laboratory tests at the facility also confirmed anemia with 20 percent blood level and a blood transfusion was recommended.
The source said the doctor on duty stated that due to the child’s age and weight, she could not take two full pints of blood, but could take one pint plus a small quantity from a second pint. The hospital reportedly billed the father N500,000 for two pints.
The father was said to have initially paid N300,000. The first pint transfusion commenced around 5 p.m. on Sunday and ended about 1 a.m. on Monday. After the transfusion, the girl was said to have become active and was playing.
The account further stated that a doctor who resumed duty on Monday morning examined the girl and insisted the second pint must be administered, asking the father to pay the balance. The father reportedly paid an additional N150,000 and promised to pay the remaining N50,000 later.
The father was said to have left the hospital, and by the time he returned, the second full pint had already been administered.
Shortly after, the girl reportedly began complaining of severe chest pain and difficulty in breathing. Her pulse rate was said to have dropped critically, prompting the hospital to place her on oxygen and refer her to LASUTH.
She was conveyed in the private hospital’s ambulance with a nurse, but started foaming from the nose and mouth en route, according to the family.
On arrival at LASUTH, doctors were said to have confirmed that the girl was already dead before reaching the hospital and declined to issue a death certificate, advising that the body be returned to the hospital where treatment was administered.
The family is calling for an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the death.
Efforts to get the response of the private hospital and Panti Division of Nigeria Police, were unsuccessful as at the time of filing this report.