Donkorkrom Presbyterian Hospital to have anti-snake Serum

Health authorities at the Presbyterian Hospital at Donkorkrom in the Kwahu Afram Plains North District can now heave a sigh of relief following the decision of the Eastern Regional Medical Stores to ensure that the facility is constantly supplied with sufficient anti-snake serum anytime it was available.

The decision taken by the regional stores followed extensive reportage by the Daily Graphic on the difficulty the hospital was facing in obtaining enough anti-snake serum to deal with frequently reported cases of snake bites in the district.

The Kwahu Afram Plains District, which is a farming area, has snake bites as a common occurrence, especially during farming seasons.

Up until this year, the hospital had had challenges receiving its share of anti-snake serum and has often had to refer serious cases of snake bites to the regional hospital in Koforidua or to the Agogo Presbyterian Hospital because it did not have the medicine.

Last year for instance, the hospital could only get 10 vials of anti-snake serum when it went to the Eastern Regional Medical Stores for its allocation. 

The hospital was said to have been lucky to have received the 10 vials because the manager at the regional stores was aware of the peculiar situation in the Afram Plains and as such treated the hospital as an exemption from the rule. 

“Even with that, we got more than what other facilities were given and we were very appreciative of the gesture. We know that if it is available, we will be given,” the General Manager of the Presbyterian Hospital, Mr Kweku Fianko Gyan, told the Daily Graphic.

Sadly, however, depending on the severity of a snake bite, a person may require two or three doses of the serum.

Daily Graphic report

In an interview with the paper at the hospital, Mr Gyan expressed his gratitude to the Daily Graphic for the numerous reports of the situation in the hospital and the district which, he said had made a good impact.

“The situation has improved tremendously with regards to the availability of anti-snake serum. Depending on the quantity in stock at the regional stores, we are given a quantity anytime we visit. 

“For now, there is no shortage of the medicine and so we wish to thank the Daily Graphic and the regional medical stores for their assistance,” he said.

He revealed that since the stories broke, anytime the medicine was being allocated, “the hospital’s share was always increased by 50 or even 100 per cent and we are very grateful for that.”

Frequent cases of snake bites

According to Mr Gyan, there were reported cases of snake bites almost every week during the raining season, and that men were mostly the victims because they were in their farms more often.

He said the medicine was expensive on the open market and difficult to obtain since many pharmaceutical companies in the country shied away from importing it in view of its high cost.

Programme drug

Mr Gyan explained that the anti-snake serum is a programme drug supplied by the government only to the central medical stores. The central stores subsequently distributes them to the regional medical stores which shares them among the various health facilities in the regions.

Writer’s Email: severious.dery@graphic.com.gh