Nigerian woman stuck in UK hospital due to £500,000 medical bill

shakirudeen taiwo

February 8, 2018 12:09 PM

Priscilla was used as a case study in BBC 2 documentary which exposes the pressures of health tourism on the medical trust in the UK.

A Nigerian woman, identified as Priscilla, is currently stranded in one of UK’s largest hospitals after delivering quadruplets prematurely and racked up a bill of £500,000 (N251.5m) during the process.

According to Mail Online, Priscilla went into labour three months earlier than her due date of delivery. She is reported to have experienced a medical crisis immediately she landed at Heathrow Airport in November 2017. And she was quickly rushed to Queen Charlotte’s and Chelsea Hospitals, part of Imperial College Hospital, where she delivered the four babies.

Terry Facey, the overseas visitor manager at the hospital, narrated that she (Priscilla) exclaimed when told of the high cost of the treatment.

Priscilla said: “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.”

Facey further explained that the bill is going to huge considering the cost per week for each child.

“Those invoices are going to be huge £20,000 a week for each baby in neonatal intensive care ward.”

How Priscilla’s initial delivery plan failed

According to her, the family’s plan is to give birth to the babies in the United States of America (USA) where she has a family but she was turned back by the US border officials upon arrival.

The US Immigration officials said although she had a valid visa, there is no document from a hospital in the country stating she had the fund to pay for the birth. It was during the return flight to Nigeria via London that she developed a contraction at the Heathrow airport.

Priscilla was reported to have undergone IVF treatment to conceive the babies. This method is widely acclaimed to have a high risk of multiple births.

Of the four babies, only two (Elijah and Esther) are currently alive as one died shortly after birth and another (Deborah) died on Saturday, February 3.

shakirudeen taiwo