Company sponsors surgery for 14 KATH children

Following the Daily Graphic’s publication of the pathetic story of 50 children who are being treated at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) for mistakingly swallowing caustic soda, a private company has offered to bear the cost of 14 of the children.

The company, N. N. EST Metal Company Limited in Accra, has presented a cheque for GH¢115,000 to pay the cost of the treatment of the children.

The company, engaged in the recycling of non-ferrous metals, is also considering the possibilities of paying the remaining GH¢385,000 to cater for the treatment of the remaining 36 children.

The Accountant and Administrative Manager of the company, Issifu Ali, presented the cheque on behalf of the CEO, Mr Nidal Nassir Eddine, to the hospital authorities at a ceremony in Kumasi last Saturday

Receiving the cheque, the acting Chief Executive Officer of KATH, Mr Isaiah Offeh Gyimah, said the presentation, which happened just a day after the story had been published, was swift and miraculous.

Some of the parents of the affected children were filled with awe and could not help but to shed tears of joy as they expressed appreciation for the kind gesture.

Dr Michael Amoah, a paediatric surgeon, who has been performing all the surgeries on the patients, told the Daily Graphic that those who were fit for operation and those whose conditions “cannot wait any longer” would be the first to be considered. 

He said the “Social Welfare Department of the hospital would conduct a sociological impact assessment on the financial strength of the rest to decide who should be considered next.”

Dr Amoah, who personally has been supporting some of those patients, said “the truth is all these people are from very poor background who come from the districts”.

“This must be considered a national crisis and we must all act fast. Each of these people could die if we don’t act fast as a nation,” the doctor told the Daily Graphic.

Accountability

Mr Gyimah said in line with the hospital’s policy of accountability, every cedi spent would be properly documented and presented to the donors, while a video footage would also be presented to the company.

He made a request to the recycling company to make available, if possible, a time-table on the days the surgeries would be performed to authenticate the story.

Among those expected to be factored into the first batch of beneficiaries is a three-year-old boy, Godfred Amponsah, who is one of the fresh patients on admission. 

Background

Last Friday, the Daily Graphic carried a story of a 20-year-old woman, Helena Aboagye, a soap maker from the Bosomtwe District in the Ashanti Region, who carelessly left a prepared soda in a bowl unattended to only for little Godfred to swallow a quantity of it.

His throat and the entire oesophagus are said to have been completely damaged and, therefore, cannot not even swallow saliva.