One of the largest hospitals in the country
is chasing a bill of more than £500,000
from a Nigerian woman who gave birth to
quadruplets.
The 43-year-old, named only as Priscilla,
went into labour three months early
shortly after landing at Heathrow airport
in November.
She had intended to give birth to the babies
in Chicago, in the US, where she has family
– but was turned away by border officials
upon arrival.
According to Mailonline ,they claimed that
although she had a visa, she did not have
required documents from a hospital stating
that she had the money to pay for the birth.
Priscilla, a healthcare worker, said she was
returning to Nigeria via London when she
started having contractions.
She was taken to the Queen Charlotte’s and
Chelsea Hospital in west London, part of
Imperial College Hospital, where she
delivered the four babies.
One sadly died shortly after birth while
another, a girl named Deborah, passed
away on Saturday. The other two, Elijah
and Esther, are still being treated on the
hospital’s neonatal intensive care ward.
Staff estimate that the total bill for the
highly complex birth and the care of the
babies is already more than £500,000 about
90 million naira .
The cost of treating one baby in neonatal
intensive care is £20,000 a week.Priscilla is
currently staying at a hostel run by a
charity and is unable to afford the bill.
Her husband is in Nigeria, and cannot
come to Britain to help take care of her as
he does not have enough money for a visa
or the flight.
Priscilla underwent IVF treatment, which
has a high risk of multiple births, as she
was struggling to conceive naturally due to
her age.
She was told by her doctor to fly to the US
to have her babies, as Nigerian hospitals do
not have the ‘facilities to cater for the
children’.
Her case is revealed tonight in the BBC 2
documentary Hospital, which exposes the
pressures of health tourism on the trust.
When first warned of the high treatment
costs by overseas visitor manager Terry
Facey, she says:
‘I didn’t plan to come
here.
‘It’s only money.
Money can’t buy life.
The last bill I had was
£331,000 but – even if
I worked every day – I
would never earn that
much money. My kids
are priceless.’
Culled from Mailonline
Alabatvnews.
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