More adults die of stroke at KATH — Dr Sarfo
A neurologist in charge of the Stroke Unit of the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) in Kumasi, Dr Fred Stephen Sarfo, has lamented the high number of deaths among adults at the hospital, resulting from cases of stroke.
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He said the hospital received about 1,000 cases of stroke every year, and the disease was the leading cause of deaths among adults at the hospital.
Speaking to the Daily Graphic in an interview in Kumasi last Monday, he said 40 per cent of stroke patients currently on admission at the hospital this year, ‘will die’ and a number of the remaining 60 per cent who would be discharged would be rendered disabled.
He explained that the high number of deaths among adults suffering from stroke was as a result of the high cost of treatment, pointing out that the best way to deal with it was through prevention.
He said the increase in death was due to the fact that stroke patients were normally admitted into mainstream wards which did not have the requisite facilities to support the healing process for stroke patients.
Average number
According to Dr Sarfo, currently, the stroke unit of KATH has just six beds despite the fact that it receives about 1,000 stroke patients every year, forcing the rest to be moved to the main wards.
Dr Sarfo said the unit needed a 20-bed ward with standardised equipment including monitors, adjustable beds, hoists, CCT scan, MRI, among others, as well as an expanded ward to be able to accommodate the increased cases of stroke-related diseases.
“The ward needs to be upgraded to a critical unit with the right machines to handle the menace. Indeed, critical units are crucial and should be created at all units not limited only to the stroke unit because they deal with such peculiar cases,” he said.
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Cost involved
Dr Sarfo said the stroke unit of KATH would need at least GH¢500,000 to be able to bring the facility to an appreciable level to reduce the number of deaths caused by stroke and called for the establishment of stroke units across the country, since, according to him, “stroke-related illnesses were expected to increase in the coming years and Ghana should be ready to deal with it”.
Fund-raising
The Stroke Unit of the hospital has launched an aggressive fund-raising campaign to raise funds for the building and expansion of the current facility.
Last weekend, the unit organised a free health screening exercise to check for the risk factors of stroke among those present and a number of them showed symptoms of the ‘hidden risk factors’ including hypertension and high sugar levels.
The exercise was to mark the World Stroke Day which is held on October 29 each year. It was on the theme: ‘Recognising the risk factors of stroke.’
In support of the exercise, Fidelity Bank has donated GH¢10,000 towards the putting up of a world-class facility to deal with the issue of stroke and related illnesses.
Dr Sarfo has called for a change in lifestyle and the reduction in the intake of junk food to eating of more vegetables and fruits.