Man Cries For Help As Hospital Detained His Twin Babies Over N3m Medical Bill In Delta

A thirty one year old man, Mr. Luke Megbune has appealed to well spirited Nigerians to come to his aid as a hospital where his newborn twin were taken care of have refused to release the twin over his inability to pay three million naira medical bill incurred.

BIGPEN Online understands that the management of the hospital, Capitol Hill Clinic in Warri, Delta State have allegedly detained the newborn twin (boys) who were delivered prematurely somewhere else but rushed to the hospital for intensive care.

Megbune who came to the Secretariat of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, NUJ Warri Correspondents’ Chapel appealing for help, in an emotion laden voice, said his wife and himself are now daily guest of the hospital because the hospital refused to allow them take the babies home for three months and eighteen days since after delivery.

Megbune also said the hospital has allegedly threatened to take his babies to the orphanage home if he cannot pay the medical bills.

The man who hails from Ubuluku Community in Aniocha South Local Government Area of Delta State said, “I cannot watch them take my children to the orphanage home when am still alive. Those children have great destinies.”

Megbune said he had tried in all means possible to raise the said amount, all to no avail.

Narrating the incident, Megbune said his wife, Blessing delivered the babies on the 5th of April after carrying the pregnancy for six months (premature) at the General Hospital in Agbarho, Ughelli North Local Government Area.

“The first one weighed 1kg and the second one weight about 0.75kg. They were okay.

“They later referred us to Central Hospital, Warri because of lack of equipments. On arrival at the Central Hospital in Warri, they look the children and said they don’t have enough equipment and referred us to the Delta State University Teaching Hospital, Oghara.

“They told us that going to Oghara that the babies have little chances of survival and they have just two hours to live.

“A good Samaritan came and said that he knows a hospital within Warri that can handle the situation. That was how we ended up at Capitol Hill Hospital along Airport road.

“They commenced treatments. They worked but after all said and done, they gave us the bill of over three million naira.

“I don’t have any money with me. The little business am doing has crumbled. No help anywhere and that’s why am here begging you and the public to help me raise the money and save my children from going to the orphanage home.

“I have sold everything that we had and the money I was able to raised with help from my church we have given to the hospital yet they would not allow us have our babies.

“Coming from Agbarho every day since that day is telling on us. We have no good job to fruit all these bill including their feeding hence I am appealing to Nigerians and Deltans State government to come to my aid, Megbune said.

But in  swift reaction, the Managing Director of the hospital simply identified as Matthew denied the allegations noting there was no time the twin babies were detained nor threatened to be taken to the orphanage by the hospital.

When asked where are the babies currently, Matthew , however confirmed that the babies are in the hospital and Megbune’s wife, Blessing comes from the house to breast feed them daily.

Matthew said Megbune is only trying to tarnish the image of the hospital with his actions and he is making it look as if we don’t have “human face”.

Matthew who gave the hospital’s version of the story, said the babies were given birth to as pre-term (premature) in another hospital.

Matthew also pointed out that out of over three million naira medical bill incurred, Megbune had only paid one million, two hundred thousand naira out of it.

“He is just giving us hope without doing anything about the money.”

According to him, when they came, we told them (Mr. Megbune) that it will cost him money to save the babies just as they adviced him strongly to take the children to Oghara.

Matthew noted that Megbune said the babies should commence treatments stressing that his church is willing to offset the medical bills.

He said the church actually came out and paid only six hundred thousand naira out of the said sum.