By Ismaeel Uthman
A 21-year-old mother, Iqmat Yinusa, who was detained for over three months at a hospital in Osogbo, Osun State, over an unpaid medical bill of about N700,000, has regained her freedom following public intervention after PUNCH’s report.
Yinusa had remained at the hospital’s Mothers’ Lodge after giving birth, as she and her family were unable to settle the cost of treatment for her newborn, a situation that drew public attention.
Recounting how help came in an interview with Saturday PUNCH, Yinusa said, “God used a report by Saturday PUNCH to help me. On Saturday, November 13, I was inside the Mothers’ Lodge at the hospital when the manager summoned me. She said somebody was looking for me and mentioned the PUNCH report.
“I hadn’t read the report, but I believed God had answered my prayers. I met a man simply known as Lamina. He is an activist, and he told me that help was on the way. He spoke with the hospital management about the amount to be paid, after which he left.”
According to her, the hospital bill was reduced following the intervention.
“I was later told that the hospital bill was negotiated down to N490,000 from the initial N699,500. The hospital later added N45,000 as charges for the bed space I was sleeping on. The total amount came to a little over N535,000. I didn’t know who eventually settled the hospital bill; I was only told it had been paid. However, I later found out that on the first day, somebody paid N100,000 to the hospital,” she said.
Describing the moment she finally left the hospital with her baby, Yinusa said, “It was a joyful moment for me. I carried him and strapped him to my back. That was the first time I carried my son on my back since his birth. I was full of joy because it felt like I had regained my freedom. My baby is healthy.”
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