Many patients are losing their lives in hospitals because they cannot afford medical oxygen, investigation by Daily Trust Saturday revealed.
Patients with certain complications like acute pneumonia, COVID—19, heart disease among others sometimes require the support of medical oxygen to survive.
Findings revealed that the COVID-19 pandemic which wreaked havoc around the world complicated the challenges associated with getting medical oxygen.
The development had also exposed the weaknesses of developing and third world countries in addressing health challenges.
Dire straits in Nigeria
Mr Simon Okonye lost his mother-in-law due to the inability of his family to pay N2,500 for medical oxygen that the deceased needed on daily basis at a private hospital in Aba, Abia State after a failed effort to resuscitate her at the public hospital in Port Harcourt.
He recalled that his mother-in-law slipped into a coma due to complicated cases of diabetes and high blood pressure. Consequently, she was placed on oxygen to support her poor breath at the hospital’s intensive care unit. But when the family could not afford the accumulated hospital bills, the hospital removed the oxygen.
Read More: https://dailytrust.com/how-high-cost-of-medical-oxygen-kills-patients-in-nigerian-hospitals
