Health facilities at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) are deteriorating, undermining effective and efficient delivery of medical services.
Apart from the bi-annual ritual of painting the main admission block to give it a semblance of attractiveness to endear it to its numerous clients, no major refurbishment has taken place at any part of the KATH since Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah inaugurated it in 1955.
The flow of water in and around the main blocks and other administrative areas are not the best at the hospital .
This is because the pipes that were laid to distribute water for both clinical care and internal use by patients and medical staff 55 years ago, are the same facilities responsible for servicing the hospital which has seen expansion over the years.
The huge window frames made to accommodate the special louvres at the main admission blocks seem to have outlived their usefulness, resulting in a situation where many of the windows will not lock or open properly as required whenever the weather changes.
Patients whose beds are closer to the windows, especially those who are bedridden, are therefore almost always at the mercy of the weather.
They have to endure the scorching sun as long as it lasts, and when it rains, the situation becomes more deplorable.
Mosquitoes use the free passage through the windows to invade the admission wards in their numbers, feeding on the patients around the clock ,thereby adding to their woes.
Although there are no records to show, it could be deduced that patients with no guts to stand the might of the weather and the invasion of mosquitoes lose their battle of survival and join their ancestors earlier than they should.
It is just by His grace that fire outbreaks being experienced across the country has not hit the KATH by now.
Any fire outbreak at the KATH will be devastating .
Like plumbing works at the KATH that have not seen any refurbishment since 1955, electrical works have also not seen any major facelifts since the hospital was inaugurated.
This has put medical activities at great risks as sparks of fire occur frequently in parts of the hospital, sometimes creating a state of panic.
The latest spark which almost consumed a section of the blood bank occurred about four months ago, and it was only the quick response of the Fire Service that averted a major catastrophy.
In spite of challenges facing the KATH in terms of maintenance, the hospital which is located at the heart of Kumasi, the capital of the Ashanti Region, has grown to become one of the most reputable medical establishments in the West African sub region, providing quality medical care to patients not only in the northern sector of the country, but others from neighbouring countries.
Unlike Accra which can boast quality health facilities such as the 37 Military Hospital, the La Hospital, Ridge, Police and Korle-Bu Teaching hospitals, among others , the KATH is the only reputable hospital in the Ashanti Region.
Inspite of old health facilities being used for clinical care, the KATH has grown from a 500-bed facility in 1955 to a 1,100-bed medical centre, striving for excellence in tertiary health care, medical training and research.
By virtue of its strategic position where almost all the crossroads of Ghana’s transportation network passes through the Kumasi metropolis, the KATH has the onerous corporate responsibility of receiving referrals from eight out of the ten regions in Ghana, thus putting intense pressure on its inadequate facilities.
With the easy accessibility to Kumasi in general and the KATH in particular, which is the main tertiary referral teaching hospital in the northern half of Ghana, it is not surprising that its facilities have come under enormous pressure over the years, thus stretching it to breaking point.
Inadequate intervening healthcare facilities in the Ashanti Region to properly sieve cases before referring the emergency ones to the KATH, has also resulted in the near mass dumping of patients at the only tertiary hospital in the region, and this sometimes affects quality health care.
Consequently, the staff and facilities are subjected to crippling pressure, resulting in unprecedented rate of congestion in all clinical areas, especially at the wards, where some of the patients, including pregnant women, sleep on the bare floor.
The intense pressure on the facilities and equipment also cause many of them to frequently breakdown due to over-utilisation.
With an estimated catchment area population of about 10 million, and with no regional hospital to complement it’s efforts of providing quality health care to patients, the KATH may have the misfortune of overstretching its facilities if adequate measures are not taken to regularly maintain the over-aged facilities and equipment.
The regular leakages at the ‘A’, ‘B’, ‘C’ and ‘D’ blocks, where all admissions take place, coupled with the regular breakdown of equipment , calls for the attention of all stakeholders to put their hands on deck to maintain the KATH to enable it to discharge its duties effectively.
Commenting on the outmoded facilities at the KATH, the acting Chief Executive, Professor Ohene Adjei, said the hospital deserved special dispensation to enable it to continue discharging its mandate in a sustainable manner.
Explaining, he said in spite of the numerous challenges being encountered, the hospital had not relented its efforts to provide quality health care to its numerous clients.
“Since 2004, the hospital has continued to record remarkable progress in all spheres of operations “ he said, adding, “ surgical operations for example increased steadily from 13,900 in 2004 to 26,200 in 2009. Emergency cases seen over the same period also increased from 20,000 to 36,000”. he stressed.
He pointed out that the hospital also recorded an average of 410,000 outpatients cases, 41,000 admissions and 12,000 supervised deliveries annually.
‘These impressive and verifiable statistics are the result of prudent management, hard work and sacrifices of our staff members, “ he explained.
He said apart from the clinical care, the hospital had been undertaking humanitarian medical support by collaborating with some international bodies to provide free surgical operations for needy patients.
He mentioned cleft palate surgeries that had been performed on children with deformities, breast reconstructive surgeries that provided medical care for women with abnormal breasts and breast cancer patients who lost their breast due to mastectomy , eye surgeries for people with squint, glaucoma, and cataract for over 400 patients for the past four years, as well as heart surgeries for patients with congenital heart problems for 19 patients.
He said with the collaboration with the Boston Children’s Hospital, the KATH had over the years been providing paediatric heart surgeries for as many as 49 children free of charge, making it possible for them to return to school.
Professor Adjei noted that some of the humanitarian services started nine years ago, and gave the assurance that it would be sustained to put smiles on the faces of the deprived in society.
He, however, appealed to all stakeholders and the government to urgently support the maintenance initiatives he was putting in place to enable the KATH to “ continue to provide the much needed service to its cherished clients across the country”.
He said as part of the initiatives, it was important for the public to support the hospital to complete the Children and Maternity block “which have been under construction since 1974”
He explained that the project which was now about 60 per cent near completion “ will help to provide the needed space required to reduce congestion at both the Children and Maternity wards”.
He said the management was also initiating a comprehensive renovation programme at the “A’, ‘B’ ‘C’ and ‘D’ blocks, explaining that, “the renovation would include the replacement of all electrical and plumbing as well as painting and civil works to facilitate efficient delivery of medical services”
He said with the release of the adjoining military lands to the KATH, his administration intended to establish a blood transfusion centre and administration blocks to enhance efficiency in medical care.
“We want corporate bodies, philanthropists, organisations, institutions , the business community and individuals to adopt and refurbish some of the admission blocks to ensure regular maintenance of the wards”, he pleaded
He said the hospital would respond to such positive gestures by naming the wards after those who would adopt and undertake regular maintenance as a form of reward, and a means of marketing them.
“The Board, management and staff of the hospital is ready to give due acknowledgement to individuals , corporate supporters and donors who come to the aid of the hospital” he assured, stressing that “ Management will not hesitate to immortalise such generous donors by naming wards and blocks after them “.
Professor Adjei also noted that his administration was on course to establish a “Special Trust Foundation to mobilise resources to meet the clinical and development needs of the hospital”.
Any delay in undertaking comprehensive maintenance at the hospital may cause the facilities to completely ground to a halt, and when it happens, emergency cases would be sent from almost all parts of the northern sector to Accra.
That will not only be costly, but may lead to the loss of precious lives , many of whom could be saved if the public join hands with management to initiate a regular maintenance culture to ensure the smooth running of the hospital.
Since we are all at risk if facilities completely break down at the KATH, the onus lies on all to respond to the call of the hospital’s administrators to support it in cash and in kind to refurbish the only tertiary hospital in the Ashanti Region.
No comments:
Post a Comment