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The Tema General Hospital fears more pregnant women will die on admission if conditions at its maternity ward are not urgently improved.

Sixteen women have so far died due to pregnancy complications at the hospital between January and April, 2015 due to the deplorable condition at the hospital.

Dr Opoku Edusei, the Director of the Tema General Hospital made this disclosure. 

Dr Edusei said due to the lack of enough infrastructure and logistics, the maternity was overcrowded.

According to him, instead of lying on beds, women sit in chairs during labour contributing to the high maternal mortality and still births recorded at the hospital.

The hospital does not have enough specialists and obstetricians to take care of complicated issues during delivery.

The Director stated that pregnant women who needed surgery are required to queue since there were only three operating tables.

He lamented that it was unfortunate that the construction of a new maternity facility for hospital has stalled for the past seven years.

Dr Edusei added that, the central theatre, which was shut down to be rebuilt has also been “cannibalised and abandoned”.

He challenged government and stakeholders to stop paying lip service to safe maternity since facts on the ground were disturbing.