Anambra state – A health worker, Mrs. Njideka Ezeihejiofor, has been demoted and suspended for refusing to attend to a pregnant woman who delivered a stillborn baby outside Ukpo primary healthcare centre in Anambra state.
The disciplinary panel chaired by the state’s Commissioner for Health, Dr Afam Obidike, approved Ezeihejiofor’s suspension on Friday, February 14, 2025.
As reported by Vanguard, Ezeihejiofor was suspended after investigating the circumstances surrounding the incident.
The suspended health worker told the panel that she turned back the pregnant patient when she came into the facility at 11a.m on Tuesday, February 11, due to fatigue.
Ezeihejiofor, who is the Officer-in-Charge of the healthcare centre, said:
“When the patient came in, she said she was about six months pregnant and that she could no longer feel her baby kicking. I told her to go to a higher health facility to get the best care.
“Few minutes later, some persons ran to the health centre and said the pregnant woman just had a baby two poles away and I should come and attend to her. I refused because I was afraid,”
The Commissioner said Ezeihejiofor refused to examine the pregnant woman or provide a referral letter when she visited the centre.
Obidike said that a retained placenta could have caused the woman to bleed to death.
“A retained placenta can cause life-threatening bleeding and even death. That patient could have bled to death if not for the prompt intervention of another health worker within the area.
“The panel, however, resolved that Ezeihejiofor be immediately demoted and suspended without pay while the other staff in the centre be queried,”
