The families of four newborn babies are in mourning after they died as a result of alleged negligence on the part of the doctor on duty at Sapele Central Hospital in Delta State’s Sapele Local Government Area.
While mourning their loved ones’ deaths, the victims’ families claimed that the doctor on duty was drunk and that there was no power in the hospital.
Angered by the development, patients, relatives, and visitors to the hospital reportedly staged a protest, blaming the medical facility’s management for the victims’ deaths.
According to Benjamin Ikeji, a relative of one of the bereaved mothers, all of the women who were due to give birth died in a single night.
He said, “When we brought my sister to this hospital, the doctor told us that it was not yet time for her delivery and I and my sister’s husband waited till 10 pm.
“At midnight my sister said the baby was stuck and the nurses couldn’t do anything because the doctor was not around.
“In the morning, I met the doctor who said there was nothing he could do since they had no light. I bought fuel for them that night before I left and the next thing I heard was that my sister lost the baby.”
Another victim, Newton Oroba, while mourning over the death of his newborn, said his wife had been traumatised by the incident.
He said, “The doctor on duty was drunk. We came to the hospital around 9 pm and left. Only to come back in the morning, my wife said she lost her newborn”
Some patients and relatives of the deceased victims, upon sighting the doctor, reportedly confronted him to demand an explanation for his absence while on duty.
Efforts to reach the hospital management for a reaction failed as workers in the hospital declined to speak.
The state Commissioner for Health, Dr Mordi Ononye, did not respond to calls and a text message sent to his phone number as of the time of filing this report.
