Surgical Gauze Left Inside Patient; Child’s Life Endangered – Lawmaker Exposes Medical-Negligence Cases

A member of the state House of Assembly has drawn public attention to multiple cases of medical negligence in Oyo State, including an incident in which surgical gauze was allegedly left inside a patient and a child’s life was reported to be in danger. The lawmaker issued the disclosure during a plenary session, calling for urgent reforms in surgical procedures and hospital oversight.

According to the lawmaker’s presentation, several hospitals in the state have failed to comply with standard protocols for instrument counts and post-operative monitoring. In one case described, the patient—still recovering from surgery—experienced unexplained pain and complications; subsequent assessment allegedly revealed gauze left inside the body. The official said that in another instance, a child is now facing life-threatening complications traced to a similar surgical oversight.

Calling these incidents “avoidable disasters,” the lawmaker appealed to the state government, the Ministry of Health and relevant regulatory bodies to:

• Initiate a comprehensive audit of all public- and private-sector surgical theatres.

• Mandate strict adherence to surgical check-lists, instrument-and-swab counts, and post-operative verification.

• Establish a clear and fast-track complaints mechanism for patients and families affected by medical errors.

• Ensure disciplinary action against facilities and practitioners found repeatedly breaching safety protocols.

The lawmaker emphasised that such errors not only jeopardise patient lives but also erode public trust in the health-care system and increase costs for families already burdened by medical bills. He lamented that “no patient should leave a theatre and wonder whether something was left inside them.”

Health-care stakeholders and patient-advocacy groups say the issues raised point to a systemic weakness in surgical governance—ranging from understaffing and poor training to lack of oversight and weak enforcement of standards. They called the reported cases “warning signs” that surgical safety protocols must be strengthened across the board.

The Ministry of Health has been asked to respond within a defined timeframe and present an action plan to the legislature. Until then, the lawmaker says he will monitor developments and insist that “when someone goes into surgery, their operation must not carry the fear of getting worse.”