man. The father of five is upset for two reasons.
First, he is unable to urinate through his male sex
organ like a normal male, rather, he is only able
to pass water with the aid of a catheter (rubber
tube) that he carries around.
Second, and perhaps more agonising for Sodiq is
his inability to initiate or sustain an erection.
“I used to be quite virile, but now, my male sex
organ is lifeless and unable to function. As a
result, I cannot engage in sexual intercourse. What
is really paining me is that my wife is also not
happy and is even threatening to leave me
because I can no longer satisfy her sexually,” he
disclosed to Saturday Vanguard in an interview.
A butcher by profession, Sodiq, who hails from
Oyo, in Oyo State, is blaming his woes on
complications he suffered as a result of what he
described as a medical doctor’s misconduct and
professional negligence.
Appendectomy
Recounting his travails, Sodiq said it all began
around February this year shortly after he
approached the Ladoke Akintola University of
Technology, LAUTECH, Teaching Hospital,
Ogbomosho, in Oyo State, with a complaint of an
inflamed appendix.
Following diagnosis of appendicitis, he recalled
how he was promptly booked for an
appendectomy (surgical removal of the appendix)
at the hospital and how the procedure was
successfully carried out. In his narration, Sodiq
related how he got more than he bargained for
shortly after the surgical procedure.
“My appendix was removed without incident, the
operation was successfully completed at about
6.30pm, and around 11pm that same night, I was
already up and moving around. Shortly aftewards,
the doctor (name withheld) who carried out the
appendectomy approached me for payment.
“I was surprised because I had already settled my
bills at the pay point of the hospital before the
procedure, but the doctor insisted I had to give
him ‘something’, so I asked if I would get a receipt.
He answered in the negative and, in turn, I
refused to give in and an argument ensued.”
Abandoned catheter
Sodiq noted that for several hours after he was
taken to the ward to recuperate, the catheter that
was affixed to his private part to aid passage of
urine post surgery was yet to be removed.
“From information I gathered, the catheter ought
to have been removed within 24-48 hours of the
operation, but when I was in pains in my private
part, I called the doctor’s attention to the
development, but I was shocked when he told me
point blank that I would only be attended to when
I was ready to accede to his request.
“His unwillingness to attend to me resulted to the
catheter remaining in my body for as long as 144
hours. It was only after my private part had
become swollen, bleeding and fluid coming out
that the catheter was removed. Now, I urinate
with great discomfort. I am always feeling a
peppery sensation in my urethra, worse still, I am
unable to have an erection. These were not
complications of the surgery, but consequences of
negligence.
Sodiq told Saturday Vanguard that he immediately
took up the matter officially with authorities of
the hospital, but several complaints yielded
nothing as the response was not encouraging
because all effort to compel those in charge to
take responsibility and make amends for the
misdemeanour amounted to nought.
Petition
Left with no other option, Sadiq consulted his
solicitors who petitioned the hospital authorities .
Copies of the petition, addressed to the Chief
Medical Director, LAUTECH Teaching Hospital,
Ogbomosho, were sent to the institution’s Director
of Administration, Chairman Medical Advisory
Committee and President, Medical and Dental
Consultants Association of Nigeria, MDCAN, Oyo
State branch in Ibadan, as well as the President of
the Association’s national body in Abuja.
In the letter, Sodiq’s lawyers pointed out the
hospital’s responsibility to normalize his urethral
stream and also to foot the cost of medical
treatment that would regularise the damage.
The letter, dated 24 June, 2015, was also copied to
the office of the Oyo State Commissioner of
Health and office of the Oyo State Governor,
Senator Isiaq Abiola Ajimobi, demanding full
investigation and appropriate sanctions meted out
to those found culpable and indicating readiness of
the aggrieved party to go to court to seek legal
redress should the hospital fail to heed the
request. However, none of those copied had so far
responded and when Saturday Vanguard phoned
the office of the Director of Administration,
LAUTECH, there was no response.
No corrective surgery
Sodiq said he was told that if he really wanted to
have an operation to correct the problem, he
would have to pay from his own pocket. “Even
after I made it clear that the doctor in question
had admitted fault, an official advised me to
forget the matter because, as he claimed, the
hospital was not receiving subvention from the
state government and was under instruction by
the Governor to generate funds internally to run
its own services.”
“I tried to seek the cooperation of all concerned at
a roundtable, but to avail. I was informed that the
hospital had nothing to answer for, but that is
unacceptable to me. When I was told that there
was no waiver to be offered me in this respect, I
got really angry.
“I was angry because I have been short-changed.
The doctor had earlier admitted fault and said he
was ready to facilitate corrective surgery, but has
been avoiding me.”
Marital strain
“I am 39, married with five children, but since this
incident happened, it has caused a strain between
me and my wife. I can neither urinate nor have
sexual intercourse. My wife is complaining that I
am not satisfying her sexually and she is
threatening to leave me. My children are aged
between 13 and a half and two years old. I wish to
have more children if God wills it, and even if I
cannot have more children, should I not be
complete as a man? Should not have a completely
healthy body as God created me?
“I am a sportsman. Before this problem, I used to
be very active and played games such as table
tennis as recreation. I used to jog every morning,
but since the incident, I can hardly walk for 15-20
minutes without resting. I did not go to the
hospital with these disabilities, so I am totally
disillusioned and challenging the doctor and
hospital to come out and talk about this matter.
Ruined business
As a butcher, Sodiq lamented his plight. “Now I
beg to survive, I beg to feed my family. As a
butcher, I know how much I used to make on the
average weekly. My business has been completely
paralysed since February because I am just at
home unable to function normally. My health is
now suboptimal. I just want the hospital do the
right thing.”
When he consulted another health institution, he
was given a huge bill for the corrective treatment.
“ I went to Skyline Hospital, Ibadan, where I was
examined by an urologist after which I was told
that I would need to make a deposit of N190,000
before the corrective surgery. I went to the
University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital, and it was a
similar story.
“Where am I going to get that kind of money? I
paid a lot of money for the appendectomy, but I
am not demanding a refund. I have lost
confidence in the hospital. I am ready to go
elsewhere. What I am demanding is to be
compensated.”
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