Nyikwagh Daniel, an Abuja restaurant employee, has narrated how a nurse at Maitama District Hospital cut off the right thumb of one of his newborn twins.

Daniel told FIJ his twin daughter had taken ill two days after she was born, and while receiving treatment at the Maitama District Hospital, a nurse had carelessly cut off the baby’s thumb while trying to remove a plaster from her hand.

Daniel said the hospital management did not say anything to him or the mother of the child until the latter noticed the missing finger while trying to breastfeed the baby on October 13.

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“My wife gave birth to a set of twins, a boy and a girl, on October 8. One of the babies was not feeling strong, so we rushed her to Maitama District Hospital on October 10,” Daniel said.

“After the baby was examined, we were told she was convulsing. In the process of treating the baby, we discovered on October 13 that the hospital had cut off one of the fingers on her right hand.

“They said it was a mistake, and they told us they did not have a doctor who would treat the finger.”

The father said the hospital management initially denied its involvement in the incident and tried to forcefully discharge the injured baby.

The hospital also tried issuing a referral letter to the aggrieved parents so that the injured baby could be taken to another hospital for treatment.

However, Daniel and his wife disagreed and asked the hospital to take responsibility for its carelessness.

In the end, the hospital agreed to treat the baby after the parents threatened to report the incident to the police and their lawyer.

MAITAMA HOSPITAL REFUSES TO TAKE RESPONSIBILITY

“They referred us to a general hospital in Asokoro. We asked them for a referral letter and also insisted that they include the fact that they were responsible for cutting off our baby’s finger,” Daniel said.

“One of the hospital staff members then said the person that would write the referral letter was not around.

“They later told us to go to the compound office within the hospital premises, but when we got there, the workers said they were not aware of the issue. We told them to give us a referral letter that would prove that the hospital was behind the act. We even demanded to know who would bear the cost of their actions. They said they would get back to us.”

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Daniel said his daughter was first referred to Asokoro Hospital but there were no bed spaces to accommodate her. The aggrieved parents also got the same “no bed space response” when they were again referred to other hospitals in Kuje, Wuse and Gwagwalada.

“After that, my wife called her elder brother on the phone and explained what had happened to him. Her elder brother then called his lawyer to meet us at the hospital,” Daniel said.

“When the hospital management learnt that a lawyer had been informed and would soon be at their premises, they told us a doctor would soon attend to the child. They eventually took care of the baby.”

HOSPITAL IGNORES LEGAL TEAM’S LETTER

On October 18, the family’s legal team wrote a letter to the hospital on the incident but it refused to acknowledge its receipt.

In an interview with FIJ, Collins Marshal Eyo, the family’s lawyer, said a legal action became necessary following the hospital’s attempt “to sweep the issue under the carpet”.

“I was shocked when the wife’s brother contacted me and said they were about to forcefully discharge and refer them to another hospital without any referral letter or a nurse to accompany them. The baby had only been admitted due to some postnatal ailments and the hospital just cut off her thumb,” Eyo said.

“That was not even the issue, but having to hide it from the parents? That is criminal. They hid it for more than two days. It was discovered on the third day while the mother was trying to breastfeed the baby.

“The mother was devastated. The plaster was not even supposed to be around the thumb, but close to the baby’s wrist to hold the drip. When I heard, I was perturbed, especially with the fact that the hospital was trying to send them away.

“I told the person who contacted me that they should report it to the police station, and when the father told them that they would involve a police and a lawyer, they simmered down and said they would take responsibility. That was how they admitted the baby again because of the injury.

“We, on our part as legal practitioners, having got the information, wrote to the hospital, seeking clarification and explanation on what transpired. But till date, they have refused to respond.”

FIJ made several phone calls to Maitama District Hospital for comments on the incident, but they were not answered. A text message and an email sent had also not been responded to at press time.