Cross River Anti - Quackery Task Force Shut Illegal Hospital Run by UCTH Doctor, Community Health Officer
By Bassey BASSEY
The Cross Rivers State Task Force on Health Quality and Anti-Quackery Committee has shut a private maternity hospital, Safe Hand's Maternity Clinic, in Calabar Municipality following the reported death of a patient after surgery.
The team, led by its chairman Dr. Dan Abubakar, paid an unscheduled visit to Safe Hand's Maternity Clinic, located at No. 21 Iyata Street, following a complaint by relatives of the death of a patient after an operation conducted at the facility.
The clinic, run by Mrs. Inyang Ekeng, a Community Health Extension Officer, is a 3-bedroom apartment but converted into a 6-bed maternity ward.
Investigators revealed that the hospital has no operation licence and other professional health workers and basic facilities needed to run such a maternity.
It was also discovered that the centre was operating beyond its scope and even admitted an abandoned stroke patient in the facility.
Further findings showed that l surgeries were being conducted by Dr Sunday Abeng, a Registrar with the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital (UCTH) in what could be described as a "poorly equipped and substandard environment."
The facility was sealed for other reasons including lack of operational licenses, inadequate office and standard consulting rooms for doctors, poor ventilation, no staff record and register of cases handled by the clinic, no documentation for registration of patients, no theatre registration showing the number of patients so far operated on, unhygienic environments, poor waste disposal systems, and employment of unqualified personnel.
Reacting to the findings, the Chairman of the State Task Force on Health Quality and Anti-Quackery Committee, Dr. Dan Abubakar expressed deep concern and disappointment at the conditions observed at the facility, describing it as “potential death traps” that endanger the lives of unsuspecting citizens.
He emphasised that the Ministry, in line with the vision of the Executive Governor of Cross River State, Senator Bassey Otu, will not tolerate the continued operation of such substandard and illegal clinics.
“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.
Dr. Abubakar warned that patronising unaccredited clinics is tantamount to a suicide mission, considering the dangerous and unsanitary conditions under which many operate.
The facility was sealed, and the owner of the facility and doctor was given seven days to evacuate all inpatients.
He said: "The Cross River State Government's decisive action highlights its commitment to ensuring the delivery of quality healthcare services and protecting the lives of its citizens by clamping down on unregistered and unfit health facilities within the state."
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