Gbidukor committee donates to ambulance fund
The Hohoe Municipal Hospital has made a passionate appeal for support to procure an ambulance for the effective management of referral cases.
The only ambulance is said to be currently undergoing repairs, a situation which has led to inefficiencies in the hospital's referral system.
Dr Pius Mensah, the Medical Superintendent of the hospital, made the appeal during a meeting with members of the Gbidukor National Steering Committee which oversees the development of the Gbi Traditional Area.
He explained that the unavailability of an ambulance causes delay when the hospital needed to acquire the services of other hospitals during emergencies which sometimes led to fatalities.
Dr Mensah also said the patients, mostly peasant farmers and petty traders, were unable to afford service charges that came with other means of transportation for referrals.
According to him, the hospital sometimes had to bear this cost from its internally generated funds.
Mutual fund
The Chairman of the Hohoe Ambulance Fund Committee, Nana Bulley Osai VII, in an address stated that in response to the financial challenges bedevilling the efficiency of the ambulance service, the committee in 2017 initiated a mutual fund which entailed contributions of a Gh¢1 token charged on attendance at the Government Hospital and other health centres.
However, following a directive for the Ghc1 initiative to be stopped the fund subsequently grinded to a halt.
He, therefore, called for broader stakeholder engagement to take a second look at the Municipal Ambulance Fund.
Presentation
The Gbidukor planning committee after the meeting presented Gh¢15,000 to the hospital towards the Municipal Ambulance Fund to bring the ambulance back onto the road.
The co-chair of the committee, Mr Kingsley Freelove Amu, indicated that the gesture was birthed by Gbidukor’s interest in the welfare of its people and also aligned with the theme for the 2019 celebration of the Gbidukor Festival, “Promoting health and safety standards- our shared responsibility”.
The 2019 Gbidukorza is set to take place at Peki in the South Dayi District in the first week of December.