Health workers at the General Hospital, Orile Agege, Lagos, on Tuesday turned away over 40 women, who were at the hospital to attend pre-natal and ante-natal sessions.
One of the pregnant women, who spoke with SaharaReporters, said the hospital’s management claimed the state Ministry of Health asked them to stop attending to patients due to unavailability of drugs.
Recall that Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu had on April 4 announced free medical services to pregnant women and other persons with health emergencies in the state as part of palliative measures to cushion the effect of the lockdown imposed to fight the spread of COVID-19. 
The governor had said, “The Lagos State Government will, for the duration of the restriction on movement, take full responsibility for the medical bills of all patients who fall in the following categories, at all Lagos State-owned secondary healthcare facilities: Emergency/casualty cases, including registration, laboratory tests, surgeries, and drugs, maternity cases: normal delivery and caesarean sections.
“What this means is that, at this time, patients with the above-listed conditions will not need to pay to access treatment and care at all our 27 General Hospitals across the state.”
The expectant mother, who spoke with our correspondent, said she created a scene until a doctor told her the order was from above.
She said, “I went to the hospital last week and was asked to return home and come today, that it’s Tuesdays they register newcomers.
“So, when I got there today, over 40 of us, they told us to go back to our various houses that they won’t be able to attend to us.
“They claimed government told them not to register or attend to any pregnant woman because there are no drugs.”
