Zebilla Hospital cries for new NICU - Facility operates from makeshift structure
The Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) of the Zebilla Hospital in the Bawku West District in the Upper East Region is in dire need of support as it operates from a makeshift structure.
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The unit, which was established in 2020 with support from the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and other partners, is situated in a small cubicle within the hospital’s maternity ward.
The Medical Superintendent of the hospital, Dr Abdul Rahman Ayobi, said the current state of the unit, with only one functional incubator, was a huge challenge to the management of the hospital, stressing that it did not have the capacity to provide the needed health services to preterm babies either delivered at the facility or referred from elsewhere.
Pressure on facility
Dr Ayobi told the Daily Graphic that due to the pressure on the hospital since the Bawku conflict resurfaced in November 2021, it had become necessary for the hospital to be provided with a state-of-the-art neonatal care centre.
He stated that the NICU was not fit for purpose, as it was inundated with admissions daily resulting in overcrowding in the ward with its attendant consequences on the recovery of the babies.
He stated the unending Bawku conflict, coupled with the influx of thousands of Burkina Faso asylum seekers in the area had brought undue pressure on the NICU to provide the needed care for preterm babies.
He said “the NICU in its current state is too small to render quality services within the Bawku zone”.
Major referral hospital
Hitherto, in the eastern part of the region, the Bawku Presbyterian Hospital was the major referral facility receiving cases from adjoining districts such Pusiga, Garu, Tempane, Binduri including Bawku West.
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Unfortunately, the unending Bawku conflict has virtually brought the Presbyterian hospital on its knees leading to the closure of the NICU and other units at the hospital due to increased insecurity in the area.
As a result, the Zebilla Hospital has now become a major referral facility due to the worrying state of the Bawku Presby Hospital and second to the Bolgatanga Regional Hospital, receiving patients and cases on a daily basis from the adjoining districts.
A worrying development is the fact that the situation has put undue pressure on the hospital, more especially the NICU in its quest to render quality health care to low birth weight babies admitted to the facility.
Statistics
In 2022, a total of 663 admissions were recorded out of which 197 were preterm admissions while in 2023, a total of 537 admissions had been recorded as of October 31, 2023 out of which 144 were preterm admissions.
Again, in 2022, deliveries at the hospital were 466 while referrals to the facility were 197.
In the same vein in 2023, a total of 257 deliveries at the facility had been recorded while referrals stand at 280.
Panel discussion
Making a submission during a panel discussion to commemorate the hospital’s prematurity week on the theme: “effects of the unrest in the Bawku Municipality on newborn health: The case of preterm and sick babies in Zebilla” the District Director of Health Services, Cosmos Atawoje Minyila, expressed worry that there had been an exodus of critical staff of the hospital as a result of the protracted Bawku conflict.
He said some staff of the hospital, who felt vulnerable due to the Bawku conflict, had left the hospital, stressing “ I must admit that there is pressure on the staff at the hospital due to the exit of staff to other districts”.
For his part, the District Chief Executive, Tahiru Issahaku Ahmed, admitted that the conflict in Bawku and the unrest in Burkina Faso was having dire consequences on health delivery in the district.
Writer’s email; gilbert.agbey@graphic.com.gh