The Accra Psychiatric Hospital is facing an imminent food shortage because government has not released funds for the feeding of patients this year, the Deputy Director of Nursing Services of the hospital, Mr. Emmanuel Pappoe, has revealed.
“Contractors have stopped supplying the hospital with food and we have to use the scanty Internally-Generated Funds (IGF), from the pharmacy and laboratory to purchase food at the market to feed the inmates three times daily,” he said.
The situation, he said had compelled the hospital authorities to feed the inmates with porridge without sugar, as well as gari and soup without fish.
Mr Pappoe revealed these when the Council of Shia Ulama Ghana, donated assorted items worth GH¢4,500 to the hospital in Accra yesterday to support its activities.
The donation of the 10 bags of rice and five cartons of cooking oil, was meant to commemorate the fifth anniversary of the death of Shiekh Abdusalam Bansi, the founder and leader of the council.
Mr. Pappoe said the hospital had also been relying on donations from organisations to feed the inmates.
He said apart from the feeding challenges, the hospital also lacked disinfectants and essential drugs for the treatment of the patients. The deputy director said the hospital had appealed to the government, and it had promised to address the situation.
He commended the members of the council for the kind gesture and appealed to other institutions and churches to donate towards the upkeep of the inmates.
The Public Relations Officer, Sheikh Dumah Musah Iddrisu, who made the donation on behalf of the council, said it was a humanitarian activity they had to continue, adding that there was the need to cater for the less-privileged in the society.
Sheikh Iddrisu commended the management and staff of the hospital for their dedication to help improve healthcare delivery in the country, and assured of the council’s continued support in helping them to achieve their goals.
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