ASSIST NAVRONGO WAR MEMORIAL HOSPITAL (PAGE 19)

THE Medical Superintendent of the Navrongo War Memorial Hospital, Dr William Gudu, has appealed to the government and other stakeholders to help the hospital with resources to enable it to provide quality health care to the public.
He said the hospital, which served the people of Kassena-Nankana East and Kassena-Nankana West districts, could not boast of modern facilities such as laboratory and theatres.
In addition, inadequate supply of water and erratic electricity power supply had affected health care in the hospital.
Dr Gudu made the appeal when the Upper East Regional Minister, Mr Mark Woyongo, toured the facility to familiarise himself with some of the challenges facing the hospital, with the view to initiating solutions to them.
The visit to the hospital also saw the inauguration of the rehabilitated mortuary facility which broke down five years ago. The facility was rehabilitated at the cost GH¢9,000 with funds from the hospital’s internally generated revenue.
Briefing the regional minister on the challenges facing the hospital, Dr Gudu said the hospital, which was established during the colonial era, lacked modern toilet facilities and patients had no option than to visit KVIPs.
He also bemoaned the inadequate beds and dilapidated physical structures, and, therefore, appealed for support.
Responding, MrWoyongo said the government had placed premium on the health of the people and would do its best to address the numerous challenges facing the hospital.
On the poor water supply to the facility, Mr Woyongo tasked the District Chief Executive for Kassena-Nankana East, Mr Emmanuel Andema, to liaise with the Ghana Water Company to ensure that water was pumped into the hospital’s overhead tanks, at least once a week, while efforts were being made to address the problem permanently.
Mr Woyongo also promised to coordinate with the offices of the Volta River Authority to examine the possibility of supplying the hospital with a separate transformer to curtail the problems of the frequent power fluctuation.
According to the regional minister, prior to the rehabilitation of the mortuary, families from the three districts who relied on it rather had to travel to the Bolgatanga Regional Hospital to preserve their corpses.
He tasked the management of the hospital to enter into agreements with mechanics to ensure a regular maintenance culture.
On personnel, the regional minister promised to explore the possibility of partnering the Ministry of Health to put in place a package that would see the flying in of a team of specialist doctors to conduct clinics at least once a month.
While commending the medical staff for their dedication to work, he appealed to them not to embark on strikes.
“Already, our people are suffering and the health facilities are not the best. Our people cannot afford to travel outside to assess health care, so please bear with us,” Mr Woyongo said.
He gave the assurance that government was very sensitive to the plight of health workers and would do all it could to meet their requests for better remuneration once the conditions were all right.