Health workers at the Ejura Municipal Government Hospital in the Ashanti region have been forced to admit and treat pregnant women on plastic chairs over lack of space in the hospital’s maternity ward.
Ejura Government Hospital, which is the largest hospital in the Ejura-Sekyedumasi Municipality, has a lot of challenges including lack of beds, infrastructure and other medical needs.
Adom News’ visit to the facility revealed that pregnant women in labour on admission were receiving infusions on plastic chairs.
A source in the hospital told Adom News that the situation in the facility was so bad that, they sometimes have to attend to a pregnant woman in labour on bare floors.
The current maternity ward in the facility is congested and due to that, some Islamic communities at Ejura started building a new maternity ward and theatre more than six years ago to help fix some of the challenges but unfortunately the project is at a standstill due to lack of funds to complete it.
Dr Castro Akussung, theatre in-charge at Ejura Government Hospital told Adom News that the Ejura Traditional Authorities also came in to help complete the project but they couldn’t and left the uncompleted maternity and theatre ward in the bush about three years ago.
The situation has caused health workers in the facility various challenges including delays in checking on newly born babies and their mothers.
A senior midwife at the facility, Hannah Nyarko, told Adom News that they do not detain newly born babies and mothers as it supposed to be because of their current situation.
According to the midwife, newly born babies and their mothers must be detained to check their condition not less than 24 hours in the hospital but they are forced to discharge them immediately after delivery for space for others.
She appealed to the government and Non-Governmental Organisations (NGO) to come to their aid to complete the new maternity and theatre ward.
Dr Akussung, theatre in-charge at the Hospital told Adom News that the facility, which is supposed to serve as referral centre in the Municipality, has no ambulance.
According to him, two days ago, a 50-year-old male patient died because there was no ambulance to transport him to the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital in Kumasi after he was hit by a stray Cattle on a road side.
He also added that, “even the Hospital’s theatre lacks a lot of equipment such as dithermy machine, oxygen concentraters, anaesthesia machine and theatre bed (table).”
According to him, work becomes difficult in the theatre without the above listed equipment, so they are appealing to the government and NGOs to come to their aid.
Source: Adom News
