TheNewsGuru

Tag: Private Hospital

  • Former boxer’s corpse seized over unpaid N600,000 hospital bills

    Former boxer’s corpse seized over unpaid N600,000 hospital bills

    A Former Nigerian boxer Jeremiah ‘Jerry’ Okorodudu, who passed away on Wednesday, June 28, reportedly had his corpse withheld by a private hospital in Lagos due to unpaid medical bills amounting to over N600,000.

    Okorodudu, aged 64, had been battling foot ulcer and stroke before his demise. Reports indicate that he struggled to meet the expenses of his treatment, leading to complications with his medical bills.

    On Thursday, June 22, a week before Okorodudu’s demise, his wife, Atinuke, revealed that her husband owed the hospital a substantial amount.

    She explained that the hospital demanded immediate payment of N1 million for medical expenses, warning that failure to comply would result in the patient’s removal from the premises before the weekend.

    Atinuke refrained from disclosing the hospital’s name as per the proprietor’s instructions.

    In a popular sports WhatsApp group, NSM, an anonymous source also disclosed the boxer’s death, stating that the hospital retained the deceased’s corpse due to unpaid debts incurred during his hospitalization.

    Okorodudu’s wife later corroborated the account in an interview with The PUNCH, explaining that the hospital refused to release her husband’s body until an outstanding N600,000 bill was settled.

    Jeremiah Okorodudu represented Nigeria in the middleweight category at the Los Angeles 1984 Olympic Games and achieved a gold medal at the Oluyole ’79 National Sports Festival in Ibadan.

    The boxer’s health struggles began in 2020 with a boil that impaired his mobility. He underwent a successful surgery at Dans Hospital, Irawo, Ikorodu, Lagos.

    However, his condition later worsened when he developed a foot ulcer and experienced a stroke.

  • EXCLUSIVE: Tension in NPA as COVID-19 infected top shot mixed carefree with staff, patronised private hospital

    EXCLUSIVE: Tension in NPA as COVID-19 infected top shot mixed carefree with staff, patronised private hospital

    There is palpable tension at the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) in Lagos after a senior staff who had been in contact with other staff members of the agency tested positive for coronavirus [COVID-19], TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) can authoritatively report.

    According to an insider source who spoke on condition of anonymity, the affected staff in his early forties is Head of Protocol of the Port and Cargo Department (P&C) and works directly under the Managing Director of the P&C.

    “He is currently receiving treatments in a private hospital in Apapa. No one is sure of his travel history but he has been in contact with top management officials of the NPA. The NCDC officials are coming to evacuate him to their facility tomorrow but we fear he might have infected people in the department and hospital where he is receiving treatment,” the source said.

    The source confirmed that the NPA management has been holding emergency meetings since discovering the COVID-19 case. However, it is not clear what immediate efforts the NPA is putting in place to stop a looming spread of the virus amongst its staff.

    TNG reports that if not professionally handled, this development might further increase the already high figures of COVID-19 cases in Lagos in the coming days. Recall that the Federal and State Governments had earlier warned suspected or confirmed COVID-19 cases against patronising private hospitals to reduce spread. The private hospitals were also sternly warned not to admit or treat suspected or confirmed COVID-19 patients.

    TNG reports that as at Thursday, 23rd April, the state has 590 cases, 445 active, 107 discharged, 2 evacuated, 8 transferred and 18 deaths.

    Meanwhile, the management of the NPA is yet to issue any official statement as regards this development. Multiple efforts by TNG to get reactions from the management was unsuccessful as at the time of filing this report.

     

  • Coronavirus: Ikpeazu orders shut down of private hospital

    Abia State Governor Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu on Tuesday announced the indefinite closure of the private hospital where the two index cases of the coronavirus in the state were receiving medical attention before their referral to the Federal Medical Centre (FMC) Umuahia.

    Ikpeazu told reporters in Umuahia, the state capital that all the medical staffers and patients on admission at the yet-to-be-named private in the hospital would remain quarantined until the result of their samples returns back from the NCDC centre.

    The Governor gave the ages of the two index cases as 70 and 72 years old, adding that they had underlying medical ailment ranging from “High blood pressure, diabetes, stroke, and heart failure”.

    He pointed out that the state has started massive contact tracing of all persons who had contact with the index cases in Ikwuano, Ukwa West, and Umuahia North Local Government Areas of the state.

    Ikpeazu insisted that the sit-at-home order and border closure in the state remains bounding, adding that the state would treat anybody flouting the order as sabotage, adding that mobile Courts would be set to bring offenders to book.

    Meanwhile, St. Nicholas Hospital, a highbrow hospital on Lagos Island has also been closed down.

    The hospital was shut on Monday due to its exposure to the deadly COVID-19.

    The Clinical Director, Ebun Bamgboye, in a statement dated April 20, said the hospital’s decision was as a result of “exposure to COVID-19”.

    The statement said the management decided on the shutdown after two of its nurses and a very senior staff member tested positive for COVID-19 from exposure to a patient.

    Already the management has already decontaminated the hospital located on Lagos Island and shut it down for two weeks.

     

  • JUST IN: Lagos private hospital shuts down operations after two staff test positive for COVID-19

    A private hospital in Lagos, Vedic Lifecare hospital, has temporarily shut down its operations after two of its staff and an in-patient tested positive for coronavirus.

    “Approximately 10 days ago, we had an in-patient who later tested positive for COVID 19 after discharge,” the hospital, located in Lekki, said in a statement on Monday.

    “As per protocols set by NCDC we have tested our staff who have come in contact with the COVID positive patient and unfortunately, we have had 2 staff members who tested positive yesterday.”

    “Till this moment, they do not show any symptoms. The facility is currently closed off for decontamination of the building and the fumigation activities,” the state further said.

    Furthermore, the hospital management also advised patients and other category of people who visited the hospital in the last 10 days to go for testing and self-isolate thereafter.

    TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports that Lagos remains the epicentre of the coronavirus in Nigeria with 376 cases recorded, 60% of Nigeria’s total.

    The state recorded 187 new cases over the past week – 70 of those cases were recorded on Sunday alone, its highest single day record of new cases.

    As of April 19, Nigeria has recorded 627 coronavirus cases in 21 states and the FCT. 170 people have recovered and been discharged, but 21 people have died.