It’s not true, we’ve done nothing unethical – CMD
A teacher, Mrs. Adebola Adedoyin, has recounted how a private hospital, Dove Hospital and Diagnostic Centre in the Badore Area of Lagos, allegedly endangered her life by selling fake drugs to her at exorbitant prices.
Adedoyin claimed that the fake drugs could have cost her her life.
Narrating her experience, Adedoyin said, “I was having headache for some couple of days and on January 17, 2018, I went to the hospital for a check-up. The nurses tested me and told me that my vital signs were okay, but the doctor still insisted that I take widal and malaria parasite tests, which I reluctantly did. The two tests came out positive.
“The doctor prescribed some drugs and I settled the bill of N4,000. When they brought the drugs, I became uneasy because one of them came in an unmarked pack, while the others were in sachets. I immediately asked for a refund, since I didn’t know the kind of drug I was being given. But they declined on the excuse that it cannot be reversed.
“I also rejected another drug in a sachet, because I love to read the literature inserted in any drug pack before I take it. But there was none in this drug. Due to my insistence on a refund, after arguing with them for some hours, they refunded me for one of the drugs without a pack. I stormed out and headed to a popular pharmacy around my neighbourhood.
Continuing, Adedoyin said, “I got the required drugs I needed, which were of better quality and at N2, 150, which is half of what Dove Hospital charged me and I also found out that one of the drugs that the hospital gave me at a higher rate, Ciproflaxin, only goes for N700 in the pharmacy. And this drug, I later discovered, was not even effective for the treatment of the level of parasite found in my blood, as revealed by the result of the test.
“In fact, I’m still shocked that a hospital could be so deceptive. It is very upsetting and disappointing at the same time that some medics can place money above the well-being of their patient. I want the government to look into matters like this so that the unsuspecting members of the public can be mindful of any prescription or treatment they receive from hospitals.”
When our correspondent contacted the management of Dove Hospital and Diagnostic Centre, the Chief Medical Director, Dr. Phillip Oragui Chukwudozie, said that he was not aware of the matter.
Chukwudozie, however, said that the patient should have asked for the name of the drug that she was being given.
He said, “We do not coerce people to receive treatment or come to our hospital. If people come , fine, we give treatment and if a drug is dispensed and the patient inquires about the name of a particular drug, it is that patient’s right; we will give the name of the drug.
“It is annoying that because a patient asked for a refund for the drugs sold to her and her request was not granted, then she felt the next thing was to look for a way to tarnish the image of the hospital by publicising the issue. Infact, I don’t understand this case. I don’t know what we have done that is unethical .
“If the patient has problems with the drugs given, she should not have taken it, since she knew the drugs given to her and she was not comfortable with the prices of the drugs. We don’t run a pharmacy. We run a hospital; you don’t expect a one-man retail shop, where you have a chemist or probably a patent medicine dealer, and our hospital to be giving you drugs at the same rate. Are we giving you the same quality of drugs? So, I don’t get this issue.”
