Congestion at Tema Hospital affecting health delivery services
Authorities at the Tema General Hospital have renewed their appeal to the government to complete all abandoned projects including the central theatre and the maternity block.
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They say the delay in the completion of the projects, some of which started in 2008, has led to congestion at various units of the facility.
Women in labour are forced to wait in turns to be delivered of their babies at the hospital that supervises an average of 30 deliveries a day.
At a ceremony where the City 2000 Youth Action (C2YA) International, a non-governmental organisation, donated quantities of medical supplies and equipment to the maternity unit of the hospital, Dr Sylvia Deganus, the Head of the Obstetrics and Gynaecology Unit at the hospital, said the pressure at the ward due to congestion had been overwhelming because the lying-in ward had the capacity for just 10 beds.
Elaborating on the situation later in an interaction with journalists, Dr Deganus said the staff at the maternity department were, therefore, operating under enormous stress caused largely by inadequate space.
The items were donated by the C2YA International in collaboration with the Ghana International Bank and the REHA Medical Supply Limited in response to appeals by the management of the hospital.
The items that were valued at $48,000 included four suction machines, two cardiac monitors, nine pulse oximeters, seven sonic aids, two infusion pumps and a printer.
Lack of staff
Apart from the congestion, Dr Deganus said the hospital also lacked doctors. Currently, the maternity unit has six permanent doctors who run a 24-hour service.
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"The personnel is inadequate and people burn out very often. We need up to 25 doctors to be a bit effective," she said.
According to her, last year the unit recorded 41 maternal mortalities, which she described as a worrying situation but indicated that they were making efforts to avert such occurrence in future.
Appeal
The Tema Metropolitan Director of Health Services, Dr John Yabani, said the directorate had made special appeals to some corporate entities including the metropolitan assembly for the expansion of the maternity unit. The Regional Health Director is also working towards the early completion of the three-storey maternity ward to ease congestion at the hospital.
The Paramount Chief of Tema, Nii Adjei Krakue II, appealed to the government to make good use of the vast land set aside to construct a bigger hospital following the rising population in the metropolis.
He said the hospital was currently situated in the centre of three major highways and therefore, took care of the high accident cases and also catered for patients from Ada, Ningo, Prampram and Ashaiman.
Support
The President of C2YA International, Rudolf Francis Hans-Jorie, explained that the poor state of health services delivery in many public hospitals in the country compelled his outfit to initiate the hospital support programme in 2011. He said together with their partners, they had supported in the provision of quality healthcare services at some heath facilities in the country.