New Emergency Unit for Anfoega Hospital

The Anfoega District Hospital in the North Dayi District has inaugurated a new Emergency Unit to cater for the increasing cases of accidents and emergencies in the area.

The newly inaugurated unit, a feat achieved by the health institution as part of its 60th anniversary celebration, was built with the hospital’s

internally generated fund and a loan facility in order to improve accident and emergency cases management of the over 90,000 population it serves.

Mr Williams Ladzaka, the Administrator of the hospital, indicated that the new building was put up upon careful considerations of the current working environment which he explained was not conducive; aside several other challenges encountered in managing emergency cases received at the hospital.

The new facility was inaugurated during the celebration held on the theme: “60 years of quality healthcare delivery; the role of stakeholder, challenges and the way forward”.

The hospital, a member of the Christian Health Association of Ghana, is legally owned by the Bishop of Ho Diocese and the first hospital in the then Keta-Ho Diocese founded in 1959.

Zero maternal deaths

Mr Ladzaka said the hospital had not recorded any maternal mortality in the past two years, an achievement he attributed to high service delivery and improved staff efficiency.

The administrator also pointed out that the introduction of the institution’s Diabetic and Hypertensive Clinic Day had translated into an increment in the hospital’s OPD attendance.

The administrator revealed that there would be varied specialist services to be offered by the hospital in due time to meet current and diverse health needs of the people. He indicated that several of its staff were currently undergoing specialist training in order to fill the gap.

Challenges

The hospital is however grappling with inadequate staff accommodation for its hardworking health workers.

The hospital is also currently being run with insufficient funding, coupled with the withdrawal of donor support to the facility.

Mr Ladzaka also appealed for an increase in the number of critical staff at the hospital.

Most Rev. Emmanuel Kofi Fianu, SVD, Bishop of the Ho Diocese, emphasised the everlasting partnership that existed between the government and the Catholic Church in all spheres, including the provision of quality education and health care which fell in line with its conviction as a church that “the integral development of the human person stands central to any true and sincere faith formation.”

He indicated that the church also believed in the provision of results-oriented socio-economic development of the people it served, hence its numerous collaborations with the government purposely to fill the gap where there was need and government resources could not cover.

Support

Most Rev. Fianu implored the government to support the hospital, especially in the payment of salaries of critical staff, better equip the hospital for improved healthcare delivery and ensure prompt NHIS claim payment.

The bishop, in collaboration with a donor organisation, is currently sponsoring the construction of a children’s ward to detach the unit from the maternity ward in order to improve service delivery.

Togbega Tepre Hodo IV, the Paramount Chief of the Anfoega Traditional Area, said he was impressed with the tremendous progress of the hospital, including its ‘meet the public’ initiative designed to make the administration more open and responsive to the public;

its unending consultations with the traditional authority and the hospital’s effort towards infrastructure improvement for excellent healthcare delivery.

He expressed the view that with the elevation of the hospital to a district hospital status, there was the need for government to assist the facility as expectations were high.

“I expect the Ghana government to support the facility and leverage it towards the attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals in the health sector, in line with United Nations Agenda of Health for all by 2030,” he said.

In a speech read on his behalf, the Minister of Health, Dr Kwaku Agyeman-Manu, said “after the hospital’s upgrade, much work needed to be done in the areas of infrastructure, medical equipment and human resource to enable the hospital perform effectively in its new status.”

He indicated that the government through the Ministry of Health had pledged its unflinching support to enable the hospital attain its desired goal after its elevation.