A pregnant woman named Aisha Najamu died at the Turai Umaru Musa Yar’Adua Maternity and Children Hospital in Katsina State after a health worker allegedly refused to accept a bank transfer for oxygen, insisting that only cash was allowed.
The incident happened on Monday when Aisha was brought to the hospital in a critical condition and urgently needed oxygen.
According to a report by Channels Television on Friday, an eyewitness said the cashier would not issue a receipt or process the payment because the patient’s family did not have cash, citing a hospital rule that bans transfers.
A man who tried to intervene begged the cashier to accept a transfer so Aisha could be stabilized, but the staff member said the hospital’s directive must be followed. The witness added that he even offered to pay an extra amount and presented a $100 note out of sympathy, but the cashier still refused.
The witness said Aisha cried out for help until she died around 11:30 p.m. Hospital officials told reporters they had not received any formal complaint about the matter.
Cashier Aminu Kofar Bai, speaking on behalf of the management, offered condolences to the family and promised that any staff involved in negligence would be investigated.
The hospital however defended its payment procedure, explaining that Katsina State Government Treasury Single Account (TSA) guidelines prohibit transfers to personal accounts and that the facility has no POS machines, making cash the only acceptable form of payment.
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