…Pressure on regulators to strengthen enforcement
By Chioma Obinna
LAGOS — FOLLOWING the death of Chimamanda Adichie’s son, the Lagos State government and Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria, MDCN, have launched parallel investigations into the alleged medical negligence at Eurocare Hospital, Victoria Island, Lagos.
Findings by Vanguard revealed that Lagos State’s hospital regulatory body, Health Facility Monitoring and Accreditation Agency, HEFAMMA, has already paid an inspection visit to Eurocare Hospital to verify the facts behind conflicting accounts circulating in the media.
A source within the agency said the visit was aimed at “ensuring that justice is served, facts are separated from emotions, and both the hospital and the family are treated fairly.”
Multiple sources also disclosed that the family’s petitions directly triggered the involvement of HEFAMMA, the NMA, and MDCN, the statutory regulator of medical practice in Nigeria.
Another source said: “HEFAMMA is now working closely with the MDCN to harmonise findings and ensure that any breach of professional ethics or medical standards, if established, is properly addressed.”
A senior health official familiar with the process said the collaboration was designed to “guarantee credibility, avoid bias, and protect both patient rights and professional integrity.”
Although no official timeline has been given for the conclusion of the investigations, it was gathered that all parties — the hospital, the family, and the investigating bodies — have agreed to cooperate fully to ensure transparency, accountability, and fairness.
A source in the Lagos State Ministry of Health confirmed to Vanguard that the matter remains under investigation.
“The matter is under investigation. I cannot tell you anything beyond what the ministry has put out. But I can tell you that we have visited the hospital because if you are investigating, you must see the people you are investigating,” the source said.
On when the outcome would be released, the official said: “It will not be something lengthy. The result will be out as soon as possible. We don’t have a fixed timeline, but it will be as soon as possible.”
Another source within HEFAMMA, while speaking on the increasing cases of medical negligence across the country, said the agency would continue to enforce compliance with health standards.
“Our mandate is to inspect, monitor, accredit and ensure compliance with the standards we have set. So we will continue to inspect, monitor, accredit and enforce those standards,” the official said.
Already, the Nigeria Medical Association, NMA, in Lagos State, had earlier announced that it would conduct an independent professional inquiry into the matter.
Sources confirmed that NMA officials have also visited the hospital.
However, the controversy deepened after it emerged that the Chimamanda family had written several formal letters to the management of Eurocare Hospital demanding a detailed explanation of the treatment administered, the decisions taken during care and the circumstances that allegedly led to the adverse outcome.
Copies of the letters were also sent to regulatory authorities, requesting an independent and transparent investigation.
Pressure on regulators to strengthen enforcement
Meanwhile, since the Chimamanda case broke, more Nigerians have come forward with disturbing accounts of alleged medical negligence, deepening public anxiety over patient safety in the country’s health sector.
Analysts say the growing number of similar testimonies, emerging alongside the Chimamanda case, has placed renewed pressure on regulators to strengthen enforcement and ensure that allegations of medical negligence no longer end in silence.
Many Nigerians now believe the outcome of the Eurocare investigation may mark a turning point in how medical accountability is handled in the country.
However, some stakeholders, who spoke to Vanguard under anonymity, said the Eurocare case has once again thrown the spotlight on accountability in Nigeria’s private healthcare sector, where allegations of medical negligence have often ended without clear and transparent resolutions.
For them, both the Chimamanda family and Eurocare Hospital management must refrain from prejudicing the investigations while regulatory authorities complete their work.
One such account came from a Nigerian woman, who alleged that a hospital forgot a medical pad inside her body, after stitching a cervical tear she sustained during childbirth.
She explained that her husband first noticed a whitish object shortly after delivery, which she mistakenly believed was part of her stitches.
Days later, after the pain and smell became unbearable, she sent a video of the protruding object to a nurse, who reportedly told her it was the pad used to clean blood during delivery and that it had been forgotten inside her body.
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