Lagos orders registration of pregnant women turned away at hospital

…Management denies 45-patient cap as staff blame workforce shortage

By Florencemary Nwabueze

LAGOS — More than 30 pregnant women seeking antenatal care at the Mother and Child Hospital, Ogombo Road, Lekki, were left stranded on Tuesday over an alleged policy limiting registrations to 45 patients, prompting the Lagos State Commissioner for Health, Professor Akin Abayomi, to intervene and order the registration of all affected women.

The women, some of whom said they had visited the government-owned facility several times without success, expressed frustration after arriving early in the morning only to be told that the registration quota had been exhausted.

Some hospital administrative staff reportedly told the women that the practice had been in place for more than a year, explaining that even if 100 pregnant women arrived as early as 6 a.m., only 45 would be attended to while the others would be turned away.

The situation triggered protests, with some of the women leaving the hospital in frustration while others remained, pleading to be registered.

One of the pregnant women said, “This is my third time coming here, and they will tell me that the number has reached 45 and I should go home.”

Another patient said she had arrived early as instructed but was still turned away.

“I am tired of coming here. They ask me to come early. I got here at 6:40 a.m., and they are telling me the number is finished,” she said.

The incident attracted the attention of Abayomi, who reportedly contacted the hospital’s Managing Director, Dr Femi Aletan, to address the complaints.

Aletan apologised and summoned the hospital management to resolve the situation.

Following a meeting with the affected women, the management apologised for the incident and said it was unaware of any policy restricting antenatal registration to 45 patients per week.

A hospital official told the women: “We are very sorry for what happened here today.

“We only ask our women to come early so we can finish early. We didn’t say we will only attend to 45 people. Everyone here today will be registered.”

Nurses were subsequently directed to register all the women, although the process continued into the afternoon, with some patients still waiting as of 4 p.m.

Workforce Shortage Blamed

A doctor at the hospital, identified as Dr Sariki, attributed the situation to a shortage of healthcare workers, saying the limited workforce was placing considerable pressure on available staff.

“Our biggest problem is workforce. I have to come all the way from the mainland every day. There are no healthcare workers living on the island. Accommodation is very expensive. If the government can provide us with accommodation within the hospital, maybe build housing for us, it will ease the stress. We are only a few workers here,” he said.

The doctor also disclosed that he had recently declined a job offer from Saudi Arabia, expressing hope that he would not regret the decision.

He called for reforms in medical education to increase the number of healthcare professionals trained in Nigeria.

“The cut-off mark to admit students to study medicine in the university is too much. Schools need to create room to train more healthcare workers,” he said.

A nurse who exchanged words with the pregnant women defended the reported limit, citing the hospital’s staffing capacity.

“Do you know our workforce capacity? Do you know our strength? We take 45 because that is what we can attend to,” the nurse said.

Hospital MD Cites Japa Syndrome

The hospital’s Managing Director, Aletan, also blamed the shortage of healthcare workers on the migration of Nigerian medical professionals to other countries, saying the trend was affecting service delivery.

“Our biggest problem is the mass exodus of healthcare workers from Nigeria to other countries. We have only a few healthcare workers left in Nigeria. It is seriously affecting our working system,” he said.

He attributed the migration partly to better salaries and employment benefits offered abroad.

“The salary they are being offered outside the country and the workers’ benefits are pushing them out. If the government can make the same offer here, I believe they will stay,” Aletan added.

The Mother and Child Hospital, located along Ogombo Road in Lekki, was established by the Lagos State Government to provide maternal and infant healthcare services, including specialist gynaecological care and emergency services.

The facility has attracted patients seeking maternal healthcare because of its facilities and range of services.

Tuesday’s incident, however, highlighted concerns over access to antenatal care, communication between hospital staff and patients, and the capacity of healthcare facilities to manage demand amid reported staffing shortages.

Although the hospital management directed that all the affected women be registered, the episode raised questions about how antenatal services are scheduled and whether staffing constraints are preventing pregnant women from accessing timely care.