- Safiu Kehinde
A Lagos-based woman has called out the state government over the cash payment policy at general hospitals in the state.
The woman demanded the state government’s intervention over the rigid policy at the hospitals which she claimed to be responsible for delay in treatment of several patients at the hospitals.
Speaking in a video shared on X on Tuesday, the woman recounted how her child’s treatment was yesterday delayed at an undisclosed general hospital where the child was rushed to after falling ill at work.
She narrated rushing to the hospital with four debit cards and her phone only to be denied request to pay through POS or transfer after waiting on the queue for over one hour.
According to her, the hospital officials insisted on only cash payment, putting her under the mercy of POS operator who charged as high as N600 for N13,000 withdrawal.
‘They transferred my child to the General Hospital that he fell ill. They called me and I rushed down there immediately. He was told to go and do a test which cost N13,000.
‘I have over N200,000 cash here in my shop. But when I was called that my child is in the hospital,
‘I took my phone with my four cards along with me. When I got there, I queued for an hour before being able to make payment at the designated area.
‘When it got to my turn, these people insisted that they wanted only cash. I told them I told I don’t have cash. POS was there with them and I told them I will use the POS.
‘They claimed the network is bad so I requested for transfer payment. They started making silly excuses.
‘They told us they are not accepting transfer too until we get cash. I was directed to a POS operator who demanded N600 charges for N13,000 withdrawal.’ She said.
The mother harped on the need for Nigeria to fight for themselves as she decried the cost of getting treatment at general hospitals and their insistence on cash payment before treatment.
‘You see this country; it is up to us to either fight for ourselves or opt not to. These people are doing nothing but rubbish. They’ve taken us for slaves.
‘You will go to a general hospital and spend more than what you will pay at a private hospital. Yet, they won’t give you what you want.
‘Imagine going to a general hospital with four cards with a phone you can transfer with only to be told that they accept only cash.
‘And if you fail to pay, they won’t attend to you. That is how several patients die as their relatives are looking for cash.
‘If the government fail to take serious decision on our general hospitals, I do not see what they are doing then as government. If this continues without being stopped, many people will die.’ She said in the video.
Reacting, Nigeria accountability group, Tracka, who shared the video on its X handle called on the state governor and the Lagos Health Scheme to investigate the allegaion.
‘In an emergency, every second matters. Lagos State’s Patient Bill of Rights guarantees patients urgent and immediate care during emergencies.
‘We call on the @followlasg, @LagHealthScheme and relevant health authorities to investigate this allegation, review payment systems across public hospitals, and ensure that payment challenges never become a barrier to care. Healthcare first. Payment should never cost a life.’ It said.