A 74- year -old widow , Josephine Ezekwe , has been detained by a hospital in Nimo, Njikoka Local Government Area of Anambra State , over her inability to settle her medical bill .
According to ThePunch, she appealed to members of the public to assist her in offsetting the bill of N 126, 500 charged by the hospital .
Josephine said she was on her way to a bereaved relation ’ s place when she was involved in an accident.
She said she was rushed to the hospital by the motorcyclist conveying her and she was given a bill of N 126, 500, which she said she could not afford .
Josephine stated , “ I boarded a motorcycle to the house of a deceased relation . On our way, we suddenly fell down and the spoke cut off a portion of my right foot . The cyclist went straight to this hospital and I was immediately taken to the theatre.
“ My daughter insisted on proper stitching of the cut , otherwise she would take me to another hospital. I was moved back to the ward after the stitching, I have been here since last week Thursday.
“ It was on Saturday that they brought the bill, which I can’ t afford to pay. Worse still , I can’ t walk on my feet to go look for the money. If I was told that I would have this bitter experience, I wouldn’ t have believed it. ”
Reacting, the Medical Director of the hospital, Dr John Onyiuke, said the patient received adequate attention without any deposit made on her behalf .
He said Josephine had since been discharged, but was still in the hospital due to the outstanding bill.
Onyiuke stated , “ We attended to her immediately she was rushed to the hospital without asking for a dime, because we believe in saving lives first .
“ The cut she sustained was so deep that she needed to be moved to the theatre, where she underwent surgery to ensure that she did not lose that leg .
“ Having given her the necessary treatment , it is only proper that she settles the bills so that we can continue to provide quality services for the people. ”
