The Tetteh Quarshie Memorial Hospital, which used to be one of the best hospitals in the country, is gradually collapsing due to deplorable state of its various facilities.
The hospital, which was names in honour of the man who brought cocoa to Ghana, Tetteh Quarshie, can neither boast of modern equipment nor adequate staff. Following these negative developments, the Head of the Paediatric Department of the Hospital, Dr. Emmanuel Adom Winful, has called on government and all stakeholders to marshal resources to rescue the Hospital.
Describing the hospital as an abandoned facility despite its track record of helping to keep improve health conditions of many Ghanaians, he also appealed to the management of COCOBOD, which established the hospital over 40 years ago and later handed it over to the government, to immediately take steps to refurbish it.
Mr. Winful, who doubles as President of the Ghana Medical Association (GMA), told GO shortly after a donation by the COCOBOD to the hospital at Mampong Akwapim in Eastern Region last Friday, that most of the medical facilities and equipment in the hospital had broken down whilst the wards are in deplorable condition.
These problems, according to him, are militating against the smooth running of the hospital and healthcare delivery to patients. He said the hospital has virtually run down, adding that “our wards are down, we do not have water, our sterilization unit is down, our laundry is down, our kitchen is barely functioning. The equipment have all broken down. We also need to paint the structure, accessibility of water is another problem.”
He continued that the situation had compelled management to discharge nursing mothers from the children’s ward immediately after delivery to ensure that there was space at the ward for others.
He further pointed out that the collapse of the entire facility was also causing high attrition rate among health workers at the hospital as most of them just abandon their posts within at most two months upon reporting.
The President of GMA recalled that the hospital, which was constructed by the management f COCOBOD in 1960, was last refurbished in 1998. Receiving the donation on behalf of the hospital, he urged the management of COCOBOD to move beyond the annual cocoa products presentation and find solution to the problems facing the hospital Presenting the products and insecticide treated nets worth GH˘2000 on behalf of the management of COCOBOD to the Paediatirc Ward, Dr Yaw Adu Ampomah, Deputy Chief Executive in-charge of Agronomy and Quality Control of COCOBOD, who led the delegation, said the presentation was in commemoration of the National Chocolate Day which is set aside to encourage the consumption of cocoa products for healthy living.
Dr. Adu Ampomah said management of COCOBOD was aware of the conditions at the hospital, adding that its choice of the facility to celebrate the day was to assure management and staff of its commitment to help solve the problems.
He noted that initially the management of COCOBOD would work to restore water supply to the hospital to facilitate its activities and that a team would be sent to the hospital to critically assess the condition to tackle the priority areas.
Source: The Ghanaian Observer/Ghana
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