Eda a relation to a patient admitted in Doren hospital located in thomas estate, area of Ajah in Lagos is still asking why vehicles are vandalized regularly right in front of the hospital, in the watchful eyes of the hospital security operatives.
With the hospital taking no positive action in curtailing the menace that has been ongoing including negligence among the hospital staff which has resulted to some avoidable deaths.
Although her bitter experience is not different from several other cases that were reported in the past yet with no solution as patient, families and even residents are still counting there loses.
Eda who had an encounter on Thursday the 21st of September 2017, narrates her experience on how her car got stripped packed right infront of Doren Hospital Ajah while visiting her sister who was on hospital admission .
Listen to her.
Pix of her car vandalized in the hospital
She advised patients and relatives to
Be careful anytime the visit “DOREN HOSPITAL”…….The thing funny with their security/ securities right in front of the car………
Main while more victims recount their unpleasant experiences
One of the men who inspired me in my University days and now a major supporter of my works and today a dear friend lost his pregnant wife to Doren Specialist Hospital’s carelessness and nonchalant attitude to their patience. Those who traits would be a enough to cause a pregnant woman’s death but add their incompetence and you have something close to a murder-network in your hands. Adekunle Sanusi is young Nigerian, widely known amongst Junior Chamber International, JCI. He lost his young, promising, pregnant wife to the above named hospital. Listening to a tape of the meeting between the deceased family and the hospital, I could already sense the I-don’t-care attitude of the medical head. Kunle in his own words to me said;
As I write you this the hospital is yet make any form remorseful apology or even any condolences to me or my family, also my wife’s wedding band and engagement is yet to be returned or handed back to me despite the fact that we had requested for it. As a matter of fact we just renewed our vows and exchanged new sets of rings we bought this last August during our summer trip to US and Dubai.
I choose to give you the exclusive right and mandate to write about the ills of this hospital because there are many persons who had fallen victim to their callousness and negligence, some of this person had personally come to me after they heard about the tragic event, and I am pretty sure they will give their account of their experience with the hospital.
I plead with you take this with attention and seriousness it deserves, I believe in your wide reach and I know by the time you start writing on this story people will come out to add their voice, I do not wish to drag legal issues with the hospital but I would love for the hospital to show remorse and humility and in all, clean up their acts in other save other people from the grief I am experiencing at the moment.
From the tape I listened to, the hospital bluntly refused to take responsibility. No sign of remorse neither did they act like two lives which had been lost due to their negligence were being discussed. I decided not to hear Kunle alone, I asked to hear from other people who had something to say about this Ajah, Lagos based hospital. Their testimonies are shared below. Except for Kunle’s name, the names of the other people have been edited for security reasons.
Mrs Umweni’s Testimony
My name is *Mrs. Umweni, I want to share my experience in Doren Specialist Hospital, Ajah; it happened in the year 2012. My two sons were brought back from school for being sick, that they were running temperature and vomiting so, when I took them to Doren Specialist Hospital, Ajah and the doctor we met was Doctor Felix (Now revealed as a Senior Medical Officer).
Upon meeting Dr Felix, he told my first son Dayo by name to open his mouth and Dr Felix said the red thing in my son’s throat is red and a little bit thing, he said the same thing of Dayo’s brother (my second son), Dr. Felix did not carry any test nor detail examination and I brought it to his notice but he said there is no need for any test.
Before we knew anything we had already paid over 20,000Naira without any particular test was being carried out and Dr. Felix prescribed some drugs and injections for my sons; right there in the Hospital before we left my sons were vomiting again and I called the attention of the doctor who said the drugs haven’t started working yet and he (Dr Felix) gave them another injection.
When we got home my sons condition worsened and I called the hospital on the phone to complain but I was told to calm down that the drugs will soon take effect and they will feel better. My son never felt better, my husband and I had to keep vigil over them because my first son Bayo was not even dilating anymore.
We were fortunate that a relative recommended another clinic of a doctor who was trained abroad, upon getting there ran some tests on my sons and came out with food poisoning diagnosis, the new doctor also made mention of the initial prescription made by Dr Felix has been wrong and dangerous to my sons.
This experience made my family really scared of going back to Doren Specialist Hospital. I would also like to state the hospital has very nonchalant and has a care free attitude towards attending to patients They are not thorough in their job and I learnt from similar victims of their incompetence that most of their doctors are youth corps members or students still undergoing medical houseman ship!
*Mrs. Joy Akpabio’s Testimony
My name is Mrs Joy Akpabio, I had cause to have my first baby at Doren Specialist Hospital, Ajah on October 2nd 2007. I was admitted in the early morning of 2nd October 2007 for induction but the induction did not take place until about 3pm later on the 2nd of October 2007 and I delivered my baby between 9 and 10pm that day.
After delivery, since it was my first baby; I didn’t know what to really expect but after cleaning my baby and all other things done, I noticed that if I get up to stand a pool of blood will gush out from me soaking my legs and private area, I feel very scared and I called the attention of the doctors but there were only nurses around and the nurse that came said it was because of my being stitched in the private that is causing the flow and it will stop, I was not convinced more so the nurse wanted to check the stitched area and I declined because I was feeling pain there.
I snapped at the nurse that if there is anything I should be given that could have stopped or control the blood flow should be done rather than guessing what the problem was; after a while the nurse came with an injection, which I was given and the blood flow stopped.
The medical director of Doren Specialist Hospital came during the time I was in labour; another lady shared my ward and she was in labour as well. When the MD came in he wanted to check our level dilation by inserting his hand into our private area, I declined seeking for the matron to be the one to do mine and to my utter surprise the MD said he was going home leaving us in the hands of nurses with no other doctors available.
I had my baby safely to the glory of God but not without being scared by the hospital, when I wanted to my second baby at another hospital this time around, it was difficult for me to pass feces and upon examination the doctors attending to me found out that I was wrongly stitched the last time I delivered which showed that anus was almost closed by the wrong stitch done at Doren Specialist Hospital.
The stitch was corrected and I had my second baby safely, I also witnessed how the other lady that shared my ward was treated, her own case was even more worse because she eventually had her baby through CS after undergoing severe pain and agony due to neglect and untimely attendance by the hospital personnel
There were no doctors or nurses stationed with us during after delivery, it was the other lady house maid who sat with us in the ward that served as person calling the personnel attention to our need, the nurse were very nasty and abusive and uncaring.
The hospital should be stopped before more lives are lost to their incompetence and unprofessionalism
PS: Names have been edited for security reasons. Do you know anyone with a similar experience as the above persons? Please share. If the government cannot clean up the system, we might as well alert fellow citizens of the dangers out there. May Mrs. Sanusi and others unknown who might have died of negligence continue to Rest In Peace
More experiences in Doren hospital
Doren Specialist Hospital commenced business back in 1996 as a clinic, and says on their website that they aim “to provide qualitative health care delivery services to the citizens of Nigeria as well as foreign dwellers at affordable rates without compromising standard.” But it seems those standards are being annihilated with impunity in recent years. I came across this story that chilled me to the bone!
Ibilola Essien was a patient at Doren Hospital and shared her experience on her blog so others will learn. Here’s an excerpt
My husband decided to take me to Doren Specialist Hospital (his HMO hospital in Ajah). We got there and the doctor said she thought it might be Urinary Tract Infection or Acute appendicitis. Because of the pain they immediately placed me on IV and by the next morning, I had taken like 10. Subsequently they called the Chief Surgeon to take a look at me. He ordered that I do a scan on the 1st floor of their hospital to confirm his theory that it was acute appendicitis. I did the scan followed it with blood and urine tests.
Already, I was irritated with the quality of service in the hospital. The nurses were inefficient when they drew blood, my IV would run out for at least 30 minutes before the nurse would change it, blood would stain the sheets till I begged they be removed. I felt like I was in hell.
On seeing the result of my ‘scan’ the chief surgeon was convinced that I had acute appendicitis. At this point after seeing the wish washy attitude, I decided to google ‘appendicitis’. My findings led me to ask the doctors if there were other ailments that may mask the symptoms of appendicitis. One of them told me he was the doctor and what he said was it. I shut my mouth (abi, it is law I read, I didn’t read medicine).
Then came tuesday, the day prescribed for surgery. I was so upset. No one had come to explain anything ( I mean they were about to invade my body, the least they could do was give me detailed information of the procedure, I had a right to know. Didn’t I?)
After I had nagged and screamed the hospital down, they eventually sent the anaesthetist to come and give me a ‘detailed script’ of how the surgery would go down. (Please pay attention to the ‘detailed script’, it is intended to be sarcastic, just in case the meaning is lost on you)
I went in. I did the surgery. I was bedhooked for 5days in the hospital and another 5 days at home. The experience left a metallic taste in my mouth. What kind of hospital was that? I resumed work in two weeks looking hot like fire and began to live life like nothing happened.
September came ( two months later). The pain resumed. Kai. What kind of wahala was this? Sebi they took out the acute appendicitis? (Guess my enemies were not happy. lol)
My sensitive and vigilant mum called. My dad says I should go to ‘Mecure’. I did (they said I needed a doctor’s referral). My mum insisted that I go see Aunty Mabel to take me to the Advanced Videoscopic and Laparascopy Center. Everyone was fretting. What was going on?
I went to see the physician at this new prescribed hospital. He examined me and told me he thought it was either a Liver disease or a condition known as Endometriosis. He ordered me to go to a Consultancy and Investigative Center to do thorough tests like the ultra sound, CT Scan & Liver function test.
At the investigative center, they push liquid through my rectum for minutes, pump mixed ‘liguids’ through my arm. The result comes out. It shows clearly that Doren Specialist Hospital cut out my appendix for nothing.
I take it back to my physician. (Yes my doctor) who tells me to google the apparent issue and ask him questions. (See the difference between the doctor that got it right and the one that did not.) I ask him all sorts of questions. He puts my mind at rest, gives me all the details necessary for a second necessary surgery.
I do the second surgery (a laparoscopy which shows that the appendix site was left in a way that could have messed up my intestines in a few months.) Phew. God is good.
I am not sharing this so that you can ooooh or aaah on my behalf. I am sharing so that you and your loved ones can pay attention to what is done to and on your body. No one knows it all. Ask about everything regarding your health. Pay attention to what they diagonise. You and I can cause a change in the nefarious health system in Nigeria. Speak out.
As if this experience was not chilling enough, from the comments came more narratives about Doren Hospital that would make any right thinking doctor of this hospital ask his staff questions. Here’s one of them
Oluwakemi Animashaun-OderindeTuesday, 12 March 2013 20:38:00 GMT-7
On Sunday, May 28, 2006 (a day after Children’s Day), I had a ghastly car accident on the Ajah/Epe express road while driving to church. Another vehicle ran into mine while coming at top speed from the opposite direction just as I was about to drive across the road into my church’s parking lot. It was raining cats and dogs. It was a foggy morning as the heavy rain made visibility poor. (Oh how I remember that day like it happened just yesterday!) I still don’t remember feeling or hearing the car crash at the time it occurred. All I know was, I was on the other side of the road, watching out for oncoming vehicles and signaling with my light to cross the road and park my car in front of church. When the coast was clear, I drove out crossing the road . . . next thing was . . . LIGHTS OUT! Unknown to me, I had passed out. The split seconds just before I passed out (as later narrated to me by onlookers and some church members who saw what happened), a car ran into mine from the opposite direction causing a loud bang heard by all which left a jaw dropping sight and also caused my car to spin several times before finally coming to a full stop. While my car was spinning, my body (especially my head) was hitting the dash board, the window, the car seat and the wind shield. As the car finally stopped spinning and people came to my rescue, they could not even open the door because I had locked my doors and worn my seat belt (something I always do). I thank God for the seat belt because I would have been flung out the window but for the seat belt that held on to my legs on the driver’s seat as my body was on the other seat in front. Anyway, as people kept banging on the car and trying to open the car to get me out, somehow, I regained consciousness. It was me who got up from the other seat, undid my seat belt before they were able to get me out. I was in the pool of my own blood! . . .
This isn’t really about my accident but really about the hospital I was immediately taken to; DOREN HOSPITAL. My face had some lacerations and a horrible opening that was almost showing my inner tissues. At that time, I was not feeling any pain; my whole body was numb (I guess due to the shock and impact from the accident). I could not see my face but others could and they tried to hide their fear of how I was looking as they rushed me to Doren. On getting to Doren Hospital that Sunday morning, the doctor on duty cleaned the blood on my face and stitched the openings on my face. I was later taken to one of the rooms to lay down as they administered some medication. I remember it was Pastor and Pastor Mrs Otegbade (Ibilola Essien’s parents) that broke the news to my parents. As the Otegbades and my Mom and Dad arrived, my Mom broke into tears immediately and requested that I be taken to Premier Specialist Hospital in VI. It was in Premier that I was admitted for about a week. On getting to Premier Hospital, the doctors noticed that the main stitch (the one with the horrible opening) was not properly done. But they said they would not undo the stitch but wait for my face to heal and then do facial grafting. Unknown to me and even Premier Hospital, the worse was yet to come . . .
About a week after the stitching at Doren, my face began to swell. The place where the main stitch was done had become septic and yellowish pus was always coming out. After sometime, I noticed tiny pieces of broken glass were coming out of the wound. It was a painful experience! Apparently, Doren Hospital had stitched the deep cut without first carefully cleaning it out. So I had a lot of tiny pieces of broken glass from the accident in my face, all stitched in!
To cut this really long story short, the pieces of broken glass were taken out and the wound began to heal slowly. The outcome would have been much better if that first job done at Doren Hospital was properly done. That was about 7 years ago, I give God the glory for healing and for being back to my pretty self 🙂 He he he 😉
There are even more gory recounts of bad experiences at Doren in the Blog comments. I know a lot of systems in Nigeria are bad, and if there are two systems that suffer the most when resources are poor, it is health and education. But it is painful that when called to own up to their shortcomings, rather than offer help, this is what a doctor at Doren had to say.
Brig Gen (Dr) J.A.Aremu (Rtd)Monday, 1 July 2013 15:37:00 GMT-7
Mrs Ibilola Essien, it is good now that your true identity has been revealed. ordinarily doctors are not supposed to advertise hence I will not join issues with you on a faceless internet blog.
I happen to be a visiting surgeon to Doren Specialist Hospital and my attention has been drawn to your malicious publication about the hospital. This has been read by numerous people(as you intended) both locally and abroad.
The management of the hospital including the Chief Consultant Surgeon you alluded to in your malicious publication happens to be a surgeon of over 30years experience.
Dr John Ojukwu happens to be a friend of Doren Hospital and our junior colleague. I doubt that he will make unprofessional comments about his seniors. If you still insist he found Doren incompetent, let him put his report in writing.
I requested to objectively investigate your allegations and I have found out your appendix was actually sent for histology(if you know what that means) and the diagnosis of acute appendicitis and peritonitis was confirmed by professors of pathology. You and your friends may wish to confirm this at Doren (I run my clinics from 10am – 4pm every Saturday at Doren).
It is rather sad that youths of today abuse the internet and under the cloak of anonymity want to bring down and rubbish the hard earned reputation of a highly skilled surgeon. Rather than continue your diatribe and character assassination on the internet as part of the “pull him down syndrome”(PHD), I would advise you go ahead and sue Doren if you are very sure there was a misdiagnosis or other wrong doings. How could you have survived 10pints of drip in one night???
Why does anyone faced with charges of mediocrity think people are out to pull them down? The evidence is right in your face! So many people cannot be wrong and only you right!
What has been your own experience? Do kindly send it to i_maymay@yahoo.co.uk
