Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has paid unscheduled visit to Island Maternity Hospital on Lagos Island as he walked quietly into the hospital’s maternity ward where two expectant mothers were being examined, catching the medical personnel unaware.
The governor, who walked quietly into the hospital ward at 6:35pm on Sunday, to monitor compliance of the State’s medical staff to the Health Palliative Scheme put in place across the Lagos State-owned General Hospitals, met one of the expectant mothers, Odeyemi Omowunmi.
The 37-year-old expectant mother is heavily pregnant but not yet due for delivery and had to be compelled to take admission weeks ahead of her scheduled delivery.
Governor Sanwo-Olu, during the visit, was conducted round the maternity ward by the Chief Matron in Charge, Akinsola Dorcas, where he personally took an audit of facilities in the 10-storey Doctor’s Quarters in which a house officer, Dr. Ovwaere Diaso, recently died from injuries in an elevator accident.
The governor, during the visit, and led by representative of the House Officers, Dr. Segun Ogunlana, also conducted on-the-spot assessment of apartments, stores, and power supply system in the quarters.
Governor Sanwo-Olu said he undertook the unscheduled visit to enable him assess the situation on ground “to know where our intervention is specifically and where it is generally needed.”
Earlier, in a chat with the governor, the expectant mothers, Odeyemi, said she was placed on admission by the doctors for her to be under constant observation until she was due for childbirth, occasioned by her unstable blood pressure – the condition that led to two previous miscarriages and in order not to lose the pregnancy she was currently carrying.
She, however, said her husband did not want her admitted initially because of the cost, but was surprised when they discovered that the treatment was completely free, adding: “We didn’t believe it until I started getting treatment without anyone asking us to pay a dime.”
“My husband and I live in Abule Egba, where I started antenatal care at a private clinic. I was seven and half months into my pregnancy when they discovered that my blood pressure was too high. My husband feared that I might lose the pregnancy again, having had two successive miscarriages.
“We were referred to Island Maternity Hospital for advanced medical examination when doctors told me I must be admitted for continued observation. My husband did not want me admitted initially because of the cost. But we were told the care is completely free. We didn’t believe it until I started getting treatment without anyone asking us to pay a dime,” she said.
It would be recalled that Governor Sanwo-Olu had early August rolled out Health Palliative Scheme across the State-owned General Hospitals as part of the relief measures to cushion the hardship being faced by residents as a result of Fuel Subsidy removal.
The health palliative, which is completely free, covers the cost of normal pregnancy delivery, Caesarean operations and antenatal care done in the State-owned hospitals.
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