Former sports minister under President Muhammadu Buhari, Solomon Dalung recounted a harrowing experience of being left unattended for hours at Rayfield Medical Services in Jos, the capital of Plateau State, purportedly due to nonpayment of admission deposits.
Sharing his ordeal on X (formerly Twitter) on Friday, Dalung revealed, “I took ill on Wednesday, arrived at the hospital, and shortly became unconscious after doctor’s interviews. Was ferried into the emergency ward but abandoned for over four hrs due to non payments of admission deposits. Regained partial consciousness, later did the transfer of deposit.”
Dalung elaborated on his distressing experience, highlighting how he struggled with unconsciousness while grappling with the hospital’s demand for an admission deposit of N80,000. He narrated, “After four hours, I suddenly became very cold, so I became conscious. And I raised my head and saw some drugs in a cartoon but I couldn’t move or do anything, so, I was just there for few moments, then my orderly came in and then the drama of deposit started. Deposit about what? Take me into admission.”
Expressing his dismay, Dalung questioned the treatment he received from a hospital he had been familiar with for years. He exclaimed, “I’m not even new to the hospital. That’s where my medical records are. The last two months I had my medical checkup, it was there. I’ve been admitted there a couple of times. That’s where my wife died. They’ve been treating my family members. That’s why I’m yet to come to terms with how I was treated.”
Dalung’s distress continued even after he managed to transfer the required deposit. He recounted the surreal experience of drifting in and out of consciousness while the hospital staff focused solely on financial matters. He stated, “Even at that, when I was transferring the money, it was an experience between two worlds because I could hear them speak, but when I spoke, I spoke to a different world. But they were talking about money, money, money.”
Reflecting on the gravity of his situation, Dalung emphasized the potential fatal consequences of such neglect, expressing concern for others who might not be as fortunate. He lamented, “What has been on my mind is that many would have died from similar situations.”
As Dalung plans to address the issue with the hospital management, Rayfield Medical Services stated they were unaware of the incident when contacted.