Aggrieved family members of the deceased resident of Du-Port Road, George Nagbe Zeuguah, who was involved in a tragic motorcycle accident, has called on the Ministry of Health (MoH) for the immediate closure of the Agape Health Clinic (AHC) and vowed to take legal action against the clinic for contributing to their relative’s death.
On Tuesday, March 9, 2021, at about 6:00 p.m., the deceased, George Nagbe Zeiquah, and his junior brother, riding their motorbike came from Du-Port Road Market and were crossing the road when a drunk cyclist came from down Do-Port Road Waterside with excessive speed and hit the back tire.
“When the drunk cyclist hit my late brother bike’s back tire, George flew over his small brother, who was riding, and fell on his head in the drainage, fracturing his head. He was rushed at Agape Health Clinic (AHC) in the community for treatment. We paid L$4,000.00, and the nurses said they would treat him. We asked them if they could treat him, and they answered, ‘Yes.’ Some community members insisted taking him to an advanced hospital, but Agape Health Clinic boldly told them that they were able to treat him like any big hospital could do in Liberia,” Augustine Nagbe, the deceased’s elder brother, stated.
Augustine said, instead of the nurses at AHC thoroughly examining the deceased to diagnose the exact problem, they massaged him with ice blocks on his head, laid him down straight and injected him to sleep. He added that, upon their arrival at the clinic, AHC was out of electricy; nurses were using smart phone light to attend to patients. As a result, he explained that they and some community members raised funds and bought two gallons of gas.
“AHC’s nurses, who assured us of treating our late brother, switched the generator off at 11:00 p.m. and left the accident victim and his wife in the darkness. The nurses sat and browsed on Facebook for hours, never checked the victims and went to bed. About 5:00 a.m. one of the nurses woke up and told the deceased’s wife to transfer him to a bigger hospital for advanced treatment because his condition was beyond their control—after they had assured the family and community members that they could treat him. Because they lied to us and contributed to the death of our brother, we will sue AHC, and call on the Ministry of Health to ban their operation. They are only after money, and are not qualified to be a medical center to save human life,” Augustine Nagbe stated in frustration.
In a related development, a neighbor who chose to be anonymous, said when they arrived at the clinic every nurse on assignment was glued to social media browsing Facebook on their cell phones and, therefore, slack in attending to patients at the clinic.
He said when they got to ELWA hospital, the white doctor told them that it was late, informing them that immediately when the accident occurred they should have taken the victim there.
“Agape Health Clinic never give us ‘transfer paper’ when we took the late George to ELWA Hospital. The white doctor looked at him and said it was late, but did not examine him because there was no ‘transfer paper’ from the clinic. We sent someone back to AHC for the ‘transfer paper’. When the person got the paper, it was not stamped and the stamp was not in the clinic; rather, at one of the administrators’ house. The person waited for over one hour before the stamp was brought and the paper stamped. At that time, George’s condition was deteriorating, and when the paper arrived and he was taken into the emergency room he did not spend three hours and was pronounced dead,” an anonymous resident lamented.
Some community members alleged that authorities of the clinic always request money first from patients’ family for treatment for cases they cannot handle, noting that they always put money first, alleging that patients always die in the end. They accused the clinic of being a fundraising entity and death zone, and called on MOH to revoke their license.
Meanwhile, a community resident, Filex Daye, revealed his nightmare with the same clinic, saying when his late daughter, Grace, took sick and and he took her there for treatment they demanded money first before treatment. He alleged that when he paid the money, the nurses administered little treatment, abandoned his daughter and she died in the end.
When contacted via cell phone, the Agape Health Center authority, through Trokon, who is said to be the administrator of the clinic, blasted at the Hot Pepper reporter, telling him that he was not speaking to any journalist.
In a related development, the deceased will be buried on March 27, 2021. He leaves to mourn six children, his wife, family members, friends and community dwellers. He was a mentor to several, including youths and children under twelve years.
