EUROPEAN HOSPITAL CRIES FOR HELP (Page 29)

Story: Moses Dotsey Aklorbortu, Takoradi

The Takoradi Hospital, popularly known as the European Hospital, is crying for renovation. Since its construction in 1927, the hospital has not seen any major renovation.
The delivery ward and main theatre of the hospital need urgent attention. The beds at the wards are broken down and midwives go through a lot of inconveniences to deliver expectant women of their babies.
The story is the same at the theatre.
The hospital does not have an ambulance at its casualty unit. At critical moments, patients are carried in the hospital’s pick-ups to access medical care at other health facilities.
That aside, the incubator at the delivery ward is also out of order, the state of the delivery room where babies are delivered and bathed after delivery is deplorable. Toilets and other facilities at the ward are in a complete state of disrepair.
Pools of water can be found in the bathrooms and the toilets at the maternity block as a result of a burst pipe laid since the inception of the hospital in 1927.
Waste water also seeps into the office of one of the doctors. Although the hospital in general needs urgent renovation the state of the maternity block and theatre must be given priority. Beds at the theatre must be replaced, plumbing works should be done anew and an incubator procured urgently for the hospital.
In 2007, more than 967 babies were delivered at the hospital.
The general environment at the hospital is dusty.
When contacted, the hospital administrator, Mr M. Yaw Danso, said the authorities were trying to improve upon the environment to enable it to provide quality health care to patients.
He said the problem at the maternity ward needed urgent attention but huge capital outlay was required to undertake the renovation.
He said because of the National Health Insurance Scheme many patients patronised the hospital but funds from the health insurance secretariat to settle claims were slow in coming.
He attributed that to delays in processing claims.
He expressed the hope that the hospital would be able to tackle the problems at the maternity block and the theatre and other areas of the hospital.