The Lagos State Government has debunked a social media post alleging that officials at Randle General Hospital delayed access to care and attempted to extort money from a vulnerable patient, saying its investigation established that the patient received emergency care intervention and government-funded support worth ₦93,950.
How the allegation started
The controversy began on August 31, 2026, when a patient’s mother, Mrs. Oshodi took to social media to complain about the experience of her daughter, Alimat Oshodi, at Randle General Hospital in Surulere.
The post created concerns over whether a vulnerable patient had been denied timely medical attention because of financial difficulties and whether hospital officials had subsequently demanded money from the family.
But following the complaint, the Lagos State Ministry of Health launched an investigation to establish what actually happened and whether the allegations reflected the patient’s experience at the hospital.
The investigation has now produced a different account.
According to the Ministry, Alimat is 21 years old, contrary to the age of 13 stated by her mother in the social media post.
More importantly, the Ministry said she was brought to the hospital’s Mother and Child Centre on August 4, 2026, as an emergency case requiring immediate medical intervention.
Patient received emergency care at no cost
The Ministry said Alimat received lifesaving emergency care intervention under the Comprehensive Emergency Obstetrics and Newborn Care, CEmONC programme.
The treatment, according to the government, was provided free of charge, with the initial value of the emergency care put at ₦75,950.
She was subsequently discharged on August 11. However, her medical journey did not end there.
Alimat returned to the hospital on August 27 for follow-up care and further investigations. The Ministry said that, after taking her financial circumstances into consideration, the hospital’s Social Welfare Unit provided ₦5,000 on August 28 and another ₦13,000 on August 31 to support the subsequent investigations.
This brought the additional welfare assistance to ₦18,000.
The patient herself contributed ₦10,000, while the total government assistance provided to her during the period rose to ₦93,950.
The Ministry therefore said the emergency care intervention and subsequent financial assistance demonstrated that the patient’s financial difficulties did not prevent her from receiving necessary care.
POS dispute sparks social media claim
The Ministry explained that the controversy surrounding a Point-of-Sale transaction emerged after the patient requested a refund of the ₦13,000 that had already been paid for her through the Hospital Welfare Fund.
According to the Ministry, the patient said an NGO had subsequently offered to cover the cost and therefore requested that the ₦13,000 be refunded.
She was informed that Social Welfare payments could not be refunded at the Paypoint because of the established procedure.
The Ministry said this interaction appears to have formed part of the circumstances behind the social media complaint.
It stressed that the State’s social health protection mechanisms were applied throughout the patient’s treatment to ensure that financial constraints did not prevent access to necessary care.
These mechanisms include Ilera Eko, the State’s social health insurance programme; hospital-based Social Welfare support for patients unable to afford emergency treatment; and the CEmONC programme, which provides emergency obstetric and newborn care for eligible vulnerable patients through the National Health Insurance Authority.
The Commissioner for Health, Akin Abayomi, said on Thursday said the investigation had established the facts surrounding the incident and demonstrated that the State’s social protection mechanisms provided timely support to the patient.
The Ministry also said it was improving payment processes in public hospitals through the rollout of the Smart Health Information Platform and regular audits of fee collection practices.
It maintained that the facts were contrary to the impression created by the social media post that a Lagos State government hospital was attempting to delay care and extort money from a vulnerable patient.
In this case, the Ministry said, emergency care intervention came first when the patient needed lifesaving treatment, while government assistance continued even after her discharge to support her follow-up care.
