Cross River seals clinic over patient’s death

The Cross River Taskforce on Health Quality and Anti-Quackery has sealed a private health facility, Safe Hands Maternity Clinic, in Calabar Municipality following the reported death of a patient after surgery.

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The task force, led by its Chairman, Dan Abubakar, conducted an unscheduled inspection of the facility on Sunday following a petition alleging that a patient died after undergoing surgery there.

The facility, owned by Inyang Ekeng, a community health extension officer, was found to be a three-bedroom apartment converted into a six-bed maternity clinic without licensed nursing personnel.

During the inspection, the task force discovered that surgeries were allegedly being performed by Sunday Abeng, a medical doctor and registrar at the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital, under substandard conditions.

The committee also found that the clinic was operating beyond its approved scope of practice and had admitted a stroke patient who had reportedly been abandoned.

According to the taskforce, the facility lacked operational licences, standard consulting rooms, adequate office space, proper ventilation, staff records and a register documenting patients treated.

Other infractions identified included the absence of patient registration documentation, lack of theatre records, poor sanitation, inadequate waste-disposal systems, and the employment of unqualified personnel.

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Reacting to the findings, Mr Abubakar expressed concern over the conditions observed at the facility, describing such establishments as “potential death traps” that endangered unsuspecting members of the public.

He said the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, in line with the state government’s vision, would not tolerate the continued operation of illegal and substandard healthcare facilities.

READ ALSO: Nearly 9 in 10 Cross River residents consider leaving state amid worsening services — Report

“The Governor is currently face-lifting and constructing modern, well-equipped health centres across the state.

“Residents are strongly encouraged to seek care at these approved government facilities rather than risk their lives with quack operators,” he stated.

Mr Abubakar warned that patronising unaccredited clinics was tantamount to a suicide mission, considering the dangerous and unsanitary conditions under which many of them operated.

The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the clinic owner and attending doctor were given time to evacuate all admitted patients before the facility was sealed.