The clinic on Captain Amangala Street in Borokiri, Port Harcourt, has had its registration licence withdrawn and sealed by the Rivers State Anti-Quackery Committee.
Following an unplanned visit on Monday that was spurred by allegations of the death of a Mrs. Victoria Paris, the Committee, headed by Dr. Vincent Wachukwu, Director of Medical Services, Rivers State Ministry of Health, took this action.
The medical staff apparently refused to give Mrs. Paris a blood transfusion because of her religious convictions, and she reportedly passed after following a caesarean section at the clinic.
The facility was administered by one Comfort Etuk out of a three-bedroom flat that was transformed into a six-bed maternity home, according to a statement issued by Dr Hope Avundaa on behalf of the Rivers State Interprofessional Anti-Quackery Committee.
The Committee claims that investigations showed the clinic was operating outside of its authorised scope, including doing surgery in an inadequately equipped setting, and that there was not a certified nurse on staff.
Additionally, the facility did not fulfil Infection Prevention and Control, or IPC, requirements and did not have a proper sterilisation unit, according to the statement.
All medical personnel, including physicians connected to the institution, have been called by the Committee to testify before the panel of the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria, or MDCN.
In the meanwhile, Dr. Diamond Tamunokuro, the state head of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), denounced the unethical behaviour of physicians employed by subpar maternity facilities, calling such associations extremely risky and unprofessional.
READ ALSO: Horror in Lagos: Fathers Arrested for Allegedly Defiling Their Own Daughters
The statement added, “This exercise is a continuation of the anti-quackery mandate of the Rivers State Ministry of Health and the Nigerian Medical Association, Rivers State and other Healthcare Affiliate Associations in the State.”
