The University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital (UNTH) in Ituku-Ozalla, Enugu State, has responded to a viral video alleging that it gave out three children of a patient who died after surgery at the facility to unknown persons.
The video recorded within the premises of the hospital claimed that the deceased, Chinyere Jennifer James, passed away during surgery at the hospital. It added that hospital staff gave her children to unknown persons due to their inability to identify their father or relatives.
One of the children was reportedly given to a pastor, while the other two were given to a woman. However, the hospital denied the allegations. It acknowledged the death of the woman during surgery and stated that her remains were in the morgue awaiting collection by her family.
Public Relations Officer (PRO) of UNTH, Boniface Uchelue, clarified that the hospital did not give the deceased woman’s children to anyone and was not part of any such arrangement. He explained that a caregiver, who had been attending to another patient at the hospital, formed a bond with the children while their mother was alive. “Following the mother’s death, the caregiver took the children out of sympathy, independent of the hospital’s involvement,” he stated, emphasising that the children were not registered with the hospital.
He stated that it was unjust to associate the hospital with the act of selling children to unknown individuals, as there was no negotiation on the children’s care.
Recently, negative reactions arose against UNTH following the death of Charity Unachukwu, due reportedly to negligence by the hospital staff. Phina Ezeagwu, a relative of the deceased, criticised the hospital’s workers on social media following 12 hours of waiting for treatment. She accused the workers of negligence, alleging that “nothing is working at UNTH, not even control of junior staff.”
Chief Medical Director (CMD) of the hospital, Prof Obinna Onudugo, deemed the allegations as serious and assured that investigation would be launched into them.
