Korle Bu — A national asset that needs the support of all
It was a bitter sweet moment for Mr and Mrs Boakye as they sat in the ambulance with their new-born twins. They had been treated for infertility for almost eight years and Mrs Boakye had finally been delivered of twins at a private health facility a few hours earlier. The twins had to be transferred to the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital (KBTH) for highly specialised care.
Advertisement
Tears of joy soon turned into tears of sorrow when Mr and Mrs Boakye were confronted with the situation of “No bed” at the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) meant to receive new-born babies. They opted to wait for one.
Finally, one bed became available and baby Yaa, the first twin, was accepted into the NICU. The couple were advised to seek care in another health facility for baby Yaw, the second twin, as time was of essence. Yaa survived at KBTH.
This and many more cases are what confront patients every day and they tell a story of limited facilities and space for patient care.
The current board conducted an assessment after it was sworn into office and discovered that many patients go through the experiences similar to that of Mr and Mrs Boakye. The board resolved to do something to improve the situation.
Moreover, the assessment brought out the fact that government financing and revenue from patient fees could not support the infrastructure and equipment needs of the hospital. The idea of establishing a trust fund was discussed and accepted.
Establishment of Korle Bu Teaching Hospital Trust Fund
The fund is envisioned to complement government’s efforts and not replace it. It is intended to serve as an independent, reliable and transparent vehicle for mobilising resources to address some of the critical challenges facing the hospital.
Other Trending Stories
To ensure transparency, the trust fund will have a board of trustees made up of accomplished and distinguished men and women in business, industry, academia and other relevant fields. These carefully selected individuals will assure benefactors that their donations will be strictly used for the intended purpose. The trust fund was formally launched on Saturday, March 19, 2016. The intention was to raise a seed capital of GH¢3 million by the time of the launch.
List of projects to be executed under the Trust Fund
The hospital has generated a list of essential needs referred to as priority projects. Support is being solicited from philanthropic organisations and individuals to adopt and execute them under the aegis of the trust fund. Ways have been devised to sufficiently recognise and honour donors. Some of the priority projects identified by the hospital are as follows:
Children's Emergency Block: This is a three-storey modern facility which will attend to all children’s emergencies. The facility will have the capacity to support subspecialty care, particularly those that are currently unavailable. When completed, the emergency block’s bed capacity will increase by 30 per cent.
Gynaecological Care Complex: Currently, the Gynaecology Emergency, where our female patients are seen is a structure cladded with roofing sheets. A new Gynae Complex is proposed.
Water reservoir: The hospital receives water mainly from the Weija headworks for its clinical and non-clinical activities. Our current reservoir can serve the hospital for just four hours when supply from Weija fails. Management hopes to build a 7-million litre water reservoir.
Sewerage project: Korle Bu’s sewer lines are over 90 years old and, thus, very weak. The health benefits of rehabilitating these lines are obvious, as we will now treat our waste before discharge.
Surgical Out Patient Department [OPD] & Endoscopy Suite: The current OPD is over-crowded during clinic days. The Endoscopy Unit is housed in an inappropriate structure. The hospital intends to construct an OPD, which will also house the Endoscopy Unit.
Central Sterile Supplies Department [CSSD] Retooling: The CSSD sterilises all the surgical equipment and linens used in the hospital, but only one autoclave, instead of four, is working. As a result of this, sterilisation orders are queued based on the urgency of the department. This causes undue delays.
Pledges and donations
Individuals and corporate bodies can support the fund through cash donations and cheques. Donors also have the option of delivering an entire project (plan, design, funds, construction, etc.) till completion. Please note that cheques should be written in the name of Korle Bu Teaching Hospital (Trust Fund).
Conclusion
The Korle Bu Teaching Hospital is undoubtedly an important national asset and all philanthropic corporate bodies and individuals are called upon to donate to the trust fund to improve the quality of care we provide for our patients.
Donate now to save a life. It may be yours or that of a loved one!
Advertisement