Greater Accra Regional Hospital waiting areas opened to visitors – Mgt

The management of the Greater Accra Regional Hospital, otherwise known as the Ridge Hospital, has said the facility has the capability of holding more than 200 people in its waiting areas.

It said the hospital, which is in its first phase of rehabilitation, had a number of comfortable waiting areas fitted with air-conditioners, cosy chairs and sofas and were open to the public during visiting hours.

In addition, provision had been made to accommodate visitors who arrived at the hospital well ahead of visiting, which starts from 6a.m, and ends at 7a.m, every morning and from 5p.m. to 6p.m. every evening.

The management debunked information suggesting that visitors and other patrons were being restricted from using the hospital’s waiting areas, thereby leaving them stranded.

In a video making the rounds on social media, a male voice alleges that there is a security guard at the main entrance to the facility who disallows members of the public from sitting in the waiting areas or even stand close by.

Interview

In an interview with the Daily Graphic, the Medical Director of the hospital, Dr Emmanuel K. Srofenyoh, explained that the shots taken by the anonymous videographer did not capture the waiting areas but rather the main entrance to the hospital, which had to be kept vacant always.

He said the hospital had a number of comfortable waiting areas, both inside and outside of the facility, and that almost every unit had a waiting area that was air-conditioned and comfortable but accessible only to visitors during visiting hours.

He said if visitors came in before visiting time, there were holding areas under sheds with seats that were located a few metres from the entrance of the facility.

“During visiting hours, we do not restrict or deny any visitor access to the waiting areas within the hospital. It is only when they come in before the visiting time that we ask them to sit under the sheds until it was visiting time,” the medical director said.

When the Daily Graphic was conducted round the waiting areas, it observed that visitors and people who had come to do business with the hospital were comfortably seated and waiting for their turn.

Abuse of access

Dr Srofenyoh said the hospital administration initially put a human face to the way people entered the hospital and allowed people who called earlier than the visiting times easy access to the wards and waiting areas, but that had to be stopped because the privilege was abused. 

“Some people who were allowed entry before the visiting times loitered and littered the place so badly. We observed that they ate and dropped packaging anywhere, even though there are waste bins placed all over. Such behaviour was denting the image of the hospital,” he said.

He said some people who came to visit their relations on admission also spent the night in the open area close to the entrance, instead of going home and returning the following day.

“It was becoming a usual thing to see women bathing half-naked in the open on a daily basis,” he said, adding that that was not good for the image of the hospital.

“That is why we no longer allow people to loiter or use the entrance to the hospital for any purpose, especially not as a waiting area. If it is not time to visit, one must wait at the designated area outside, which is not too far from the main entrance. You are only allowed in when it is time to visit and you can have access to the comfortable sitting areas within the facility,” he said.

He said the move was to help maintain the facility and ensure that patients and staff were secure and safe, since the hospital had recorded a number of stealing cases, some involving babies.

A security guard at the entrance to the hospital told the Daily Graphic that he only acted on instructions not to allow people to loiter at the entrance to the hospital but did not know the reason behind that instruction.