A 4year old sick baby abandoned in hospital by the mother....SEE PHOTO

Firstclass newsline learnt that a four-year-old child, who is battling
with cerebral palsy, which inhibits proper growth and movement of her
body, has been abandoned at the Ifako-Ijaiye General Hospital, Lagos
State.
It was learnt that her unidentified mother had sometime last year left
the child with her grandmother, identified as Nike Owoyeni, and fled.
Firstclass newsline learnt that Owoyeni took the victim to the
hospital around December, 2014, where she was reportedly treated and
discharged the same day.
Firstclass newsline learnt that Owoyeni, after leaving the hospital,
headed for the Ogba area of the state and dumped her granddaughter
beside a parked truck. The child was said to have been seen by a
resident, who took her back to the facility.
It was said that neither the child's mother nor the grandmother had
shown up since she was admitted about seven months ago.
Firstclass newsline learnt that efforts to reach Owoyeni, who claimed
that she resided in the Alagbado area, had been futile as a phone
number she gave at the hospital reportedly indicated 'wrong number.'
The child was sleeping when our correspondent visited the Children
Ward of the hospital on Wednesday. He observed a straw was passed into
her body through the mouth region.
A senior official at the Social Welfare Department of the hospital,
who identified herself only as Obilana, said the victim's condition
was very critical when she was brought, adding that the hospital
management had been doing all it could to save her life.
She said, "She is suffering from cerebral palsy. She should be four or
five years old, but looked extremely skinny. Her body was very stiff
when she was brought here last year. But we have recorded some
improvement. She also had a body odour, which has gone now. She has
started looking fresh. We attend to her every day. She is fed through
the straw in her mouth."
A nurse, who spoke to our correspondent on condition of anonymity,
said the child needed to be given a special treatment.
She said, "This is the first time a child will be abandoned in this
hospital. We have been doing our best for the child, but she needs a
special placement, where she can have access to adequate treatment. In
this case, the ministry of health needs to intervene."
The hospital's Public Relations Officer, Mrs. Adeola Abimbola, said
the hospital was making efforts to ensure there was a rapid
improvement on the child's condition. She also enjoined parents not to
give up on their wards in the face of health challenges.
She said, "The first time she was brought here by her grandmother, we
treated her and she was discharged on the same day. It was a man that
later brought her back from where she was dumped.
"The woman (grandmother) did not specify where she lives in Alagbado
and that is why it is difficult for us to locate her. We later
discovered that the phone number she gave is fake. We have been doing
all we can for the child and we are trying to get her a special
placement.
"No matter how serious the ailment may be, dumping a child at a place
or abandoning him/her in a hospital should never be an option."
Firstclassnewsline.net