Bongo Hospital needs children's ward

The Medical Superintendent of the Bongo District Hospital in the Upper East Region, Dr William Gudu, has entreated the government and its development partners to support efforts at expanding facilities at the hospital.

He said there was the need to provide a separate children's ward at the hospital as early as practicable, due to the increasing number of child patients who are admitted at the facility.

Speaking to the Daily Graphic on the challenges facing healthcare delivery at the hospital, Dr Gudu said usually between June and November every year, the hospital recorded an average of 150 outpatient attendance every day and this compelled the authorities to improvise a children's ward within the female ward to be able to admit serious cases.

He explained that during the rainy season, which is usually the peak season, the hospital admitted more children suffering from malaria and pneumonia.

Dr Gudu said when the hospital was upgraded from a health centre to a hospital, no ward was provided for children but stressed that "now the situation is so unbearable that we have to put three children on one bed during the peak season, which is a worrying situation for us."

He said although the Bongo District Assembly was making the effort to support the hospital in that direction, the hospital was yet to have a children’s ward.

He intimated that other public-spirited organisations and individuals had been approached to help but to no avail.

 Population

Dr Gudu estimated that the hospital served a population of 83,000 in the Bongo District.

He said most of the patients were reluctant to travel to Bolgatanga to access health care even when they were referred to the regional hospital for further medical treatment.

The Upper East Regional Director of Health Services, Dr Koku Awoonor-Williams, could not be reached for his comments as he was said to have travelled out of the country.