At the Saint Louis Catholic Health Centre in Bodwesango in the Adansi Asokwa District of the Ashanti Region, the absence of a fully-resourced emergency response unit has hampered efforts to manage critical cases.
As a result, many emergency patients are referred to distant hospitals – a situation that undermines the facility’s ability to deliver timely and quality healthcare.
In a telephone conversation, the Physician Assistant at the facility, Evans Twumasi Boateng, said the situation had become a major setback.
“Emergency care is an essential service delivery requirement for every health facility. For years, we have struggled to extend this support to our people due to the lack of basic equipment," he told the Daily Graphic.
He said the situation, subsequently, had compelled officials of the Saint Louis Catholic Health Centre to approach Fifty 50 Club, an Obuasi-based non-governmental organisation, for support.
Response
In response, Fifty 50 Club donated medical equipment worth GH¢45,000 to help establish the hospital’s emergency response unit.
The unit is expected to have a cardiac monitor, pulse oximeter, two crank beds with accessories, two ambu bags and two medication trolleys.
The President of Fifty 50 Club, Jacob Edmund-Acquah, said despite the request from the hospital, the donation formed part of activities marking the club’s fifth anniversary.
“We have always been driven by our quest to impact lives.
Over the past five years, we can confidently say that we are on track to achieve our mission of transforming lives and communities through our initiatives,” Mr Edmund-Acquah stated.
In addition to the hospital donation, the club also paid the school and hostel fees of GH¢10,000 for a third-year Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) medical student.
The club also has plans to support the T. I Ahmadiyya Senior High School in Fomena and break ground for a weighing centre at the Kyekyewere Health Centre in the coming days.
The Executive Director of the AngloGold Ashanti (AGA) Health Foundation, Dr Kwadwo Anim, who is also a member of the club, described the impact of the support as remarkable.
“The club has made a tremendous difference by providing logistics to health facilities and supporting patients with critical conditions.
"Bridging healthcare gaps cannot be the government’s responsibility alone – it requires the collective effort of private groups like the Fifty 50 Club,” he said.
Founded in July 2020, the Fifty 50 Club is made up of employees of AngloGold Ashanti and its subsidiaries, as well as staff of other corporate organisations in Ghana and abroad.
With a membership of 265, the club pools monthly donations to fund life-changing interventions in healthcare, education and community development.
