Cross River Govt Shuts Illegal Clinic After Patient Dies Post-Surgery

The Cross River State Task Force on Health Quality and Anti-Quackery Committee has sealed off Safe Hands Maternity Clinic in Calabar Municipality.

The closure followed the reported death of a patient after surgery at the private facility.

Led by the chairman, Dr Dan Abubakar, the task force paid an unscheduled visit to the clinic at No. 21 Iyata Street. The inspection was triggered by a petition linking the facility to the patient’s death after an operation.

Investigators found the clinic, run by a community health extension officer, operating from a converted three-bedroom apartment with six maternity beds and no licensed nurses on staff.

Surgeries were allegedly performed by a medical practitioner with the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital, in what the team called a “poorly equipped and substandard environment.”

The facility was also found to be operating beyond its approved scope. It had admitted an abandoned stroke patient.

Other violations included lack of operational licenses, standard consulting rooms, poor ventilation, no staff records or case registers, no patient documentation, no theatre records, unhygienic conditions, poor waste disposal and employment of unqualified personnel.

Reacting to the findings, Dr Abubakar expressed “deep concern and disappointment” at the conditions. He described the clinic as “potential death traps” that endanger unsuspecting citizens.

He added that “The governor is currently facelifting and constructing modern, well-equipped health centres across the state. Residents are strongly encouraged to seek care at these approved government facilities rather than risk their lives with quack operators.”

Abubakar warned that patronising unaccredited clinics is “tantamount to a suicide mission” due to their dangerous and unsanitary conditions.

The facility was sealed, and the owner and doctor were given time to evacuate the inpatients. The state government said the action reflected its commitment to quality healthcare and clamping down on unregistered and unfit facilities.