A Bauchi-based man, Muhammed Bello, has detailed how his only child, Mohammad Mubarak, died from an injury he sustained after a nurse at Bauchi State Specialist Hospital, carelessly cut off his umbilical cord.
The bereaved father told WikkiTimes that the newborn lost blood in excess after the nurse chopped off the organ. According to him, the nurses on duty covered up the foul and wrapped the baby and kept him with his mother.
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“It was on Monday, January 2. The baby was crying, but when I complained they told me that they have years of work experience. He suffered for nine hours in the hospital unnoticed to us. We did not know and they disallowed our women access to the labour room,” said Bello.
On getting home, Bello said they thought the baby was sleeping. “We later discovered that he was dead and the umbilical cord was bleeding and swollen up. They wrongly cut it and kept mum.”
Bello noted that he petitioned the Chief Medical Director (CMD) of the hospital Dr Ya’u Sulaiman Gital over the nurses’ levity in post-delivery services that caused the death of his son.
“I petitioned the Chief Medical Director but they did not respond. But I will not leave them to go free. I feel disturbed and I want this nonsense to stop,” he said.
The bereaved father said despite believing in destiny, he would not allow such recklessness go unpunished.
He explained the petition was to ensure that the culprits are punished and to get compensated for his son’s death.
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Malam Bello posted on his personal Facebook handle: “I have just petitioned the CMD of Bauchi Specialist Hospital over the death of my son, Affan. I know some people will be surprised why this guy would petition the CMD who cannot bring his son back to this world. Of course, I wrote yesterday that ‘Allah has really tested us’ but that doesn’t mean one should keep mum and leave things the way they are.
“In this part of the world (Northern Nigeria), it is taboo for one to fight for his right even at the expense of someone’s life dear to his heart!”
He added that he is an advocate of ‘Diya’ (an Islamic right to be compensated for the death of a family member) as that would make people become more careful in preventing further occurrence.
He added: “Many lives have been lost in our hospitals as a result of negligence and incompetence. Do you know why this continues? Because we always say, ‘it is an act of God’.
“I’m fighting this battle to make sure that thousands of lives are saved. Ayoosh (My wife) told her cousin yesterday that the Malam MB I know won’t let this slide.
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The CMD, Dr Gital, did not respond to questions about the allegation.
WikkiTimes had reported that a doctor at Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital (AKTH) allegedly tied a baby’s arm for several hours in a futile attempt to locate the newborn’s vein for blood transfusion. Unfortunately, the newborn’s hand got damaged and he risks amputation.
