Swedru Municipal Hospital delivers 4K babies a year, appeals for more incubators
The Ag. Medical Superintendent of the Swedru Municipal Hospital in the Central Region, Dr Julius Abuku, is appealing to benevolent individuals, corporate bodies and the government to assist the hospital to expand its surgical and neonatal intensive care units (NICU).
This is to enable the hospital to effectively and efficiently handle the daily number of cases it receives, particularly preterm deliveries and caesarean sessions (CS).
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According to Dr Abuku, the hospital conducts about 4,000 deliveries in a year, out of which about 150 are through CS.
He said out of the delivery cases conducted at the hospital, about 50 cases are preterm deliveries.
Infant incubator
The Ag. Medical Superintendent said this in an interview with Graphic Online when the Kokrokoo Charities in collaboration with Richard Ekow Quansah, the owner of Richard Plantations and R&E Farms, presented an incubator worth US$10,000 to the hospital on Saturday, February 5, 2022.
The incubator was bought by Mr Ekow Quansah, who is also a native of Swedru.
Dr Abuku said the incubator would go a long way to support the hospital’s NICU, which was set up about seven months ago.
For him, considering the number of preterm babies delivered at the hospital, it was important that the hospital is equipped with incubators to help support the growth and development of such babies.
He said it was worrying that in spite of the number of preterm babies delivered at the hospital, the hospital did not have a single incubator to cater for them, pointing out that as a referral hospital, they received a number of cases from within Swedru and its adjourning communities.
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Dr Abuku noted that since the hospital set up the NICU, it had had over 300 babies admitted to the unit, with about 50 of them being preterm.
“This facility is actually going to help us tremendously,” he noted, and called on others to help the hospital to get more incubators in order to keep the preterm babies alive.
He said “the new-born area needs expansion to befit the amount of work we do here,” explaining also that the hospital’s theatre was too small considering the number of CS it conducts regularly.
Kokrokoo Charities
The Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Kokrokoo Charities, Mr Kwami Sefa Kayi, commended Mr Ekow Quansah for partnering the Foundation to purchase the incubator for the hospital.
He said since the Foundation started about six years ago, it had relied on the support of the public and corporate entities to undertake its projects, and that so far, the Foundation had donated 42 infant incubators to various health facilities across the country.
Mr Sefa Kayi gave an assurance that the Foundation would try to give out about 100 infant incubators to health facilities in the country, urging individuals and corporate bodies to support the Foundation in that regard.
Commendation
Mr Ekow Quansah also further pledged to give two additional infant incubators to the hospital, noting that incubators are critical to the survival of preterm babies.
For him, many preterm babies without incubators would not survive, adding that he feels fulfilled supporting the hospital to save more lives.
The Central Regional Minister, Mrs Justina Marigold Assan and Municipal Chief Executive for Agona West Municipal Assembly, Mr Evans Addison-Coleman, all commended the Kokrokoo Charities and Mr Ekow Quansah for the gesture.
Training
Before the official handing over of the infant incubator to the hospital, the hospital’s staff, particularly those at NICU were taken through how to operate and use the incubator.
The trainer, Mr Yaw Esuon Arthur, a Biomedical Engineer, admonished the hospital’s staff to follow the right procedures in using the incubator, noting that when properly maintained, it could last for about 15 years.