Presbyterian Hospital at Donkorkrom cries for vehicles
Residents of the Afram Plains who need health care have to rely on taxis and other commercial vehicles to travel to the Presbyterian Hospital at Donkorkrom, the only hospital in the Kwahu Afram Plains in the Eastern Region.
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Expectant mothers also travel to the hospital by the same means.
The hospital also relies on such commercial vehicles for the transfer of patients to the regional hospital at Koforidua or the Agogo Presbyterian Hospital in the Ashanti Region.
This is because the only ambulance in the hospital, an eight-year-old Peugeot, has been grounded for over a year now.
Bad terrain
The ambulance, which had frequently been in and out of the mechanic shop and had its engine changed three times, was finally written off early last year.
The General Manager of the Presbyterian Hospital, Mr Kweku Fianko Gyan, told the Daily Graphic in an interview that the hospital found it not worthy investing in the vehicle.
He attributed the state of the ambulance partly to the bad nature of the roads in the area and said the hospital urgently needed a new ambulance, explaining that it was not safe conveying critically ill people, especially expectant mothers, in taxis or sometimes on motorbikes.
Community ambulance
Mr Gyan explained that even though there was a community ambulance for the whole of the Afram Plains, it could not entirely serve the purpose of the hospital, “because sometimes, it could be around Maame Krobo or Kwesi Fanti or any of the communities far away from the hospital; and when there is an emergency, what can we do?”
He said the area needed more than one of the community ambulances considering its vast nature.
Armed robbery attacks
Mr Gyan said an official pickup which was often relied on during emergencies had also been grounded after it was attacked by armed robbers this year on its way to Donkorkrom from Koforidua.
“They shot into the vehicle and nearly killed all the staff on board, ” he explained.
He said a third vehicle belonging to the hospital had also been grounded and “so for now, we do not have any official vehicle for domestic and official assignments.”
Peculiar situation
“We have a peculiar situation here. For instance, somebody can use a vehicle in Kumasi or Accra for 10 years and it is still in a perfect situation, but the same cannot be said about us here.
“In Donkorkrom here, four, five years, and the car is down completely. The Wengam, which is our third vehicle, is only five years and for the past five years, we have changed the engine twice and it is down again requiring another change,” he said.
The pickup which was attacked by the armed robbers.
The bullet-ridden hole on the bonnet of the car.
Mr Gyan described the Afram Plains as a unique area occupying one-third of the whole of the Eastern Region but could boast only one hospital to attend to the health needs of the people.
“There is a lot of pressure on the facility. We have a lot to do when it comes to providing health care to the people of Afram Plains. So, we will continue to plead for assistance from the general public right from vehicles, to finance, to infrastructure and laundry, to help run the facility,” he said.
Frequently reported cases
Touching on frequently reported cases at the hospital, Mr Gyan said rheumatism and joint pains, upper respiratory tract infections, as well as pregnancy and related complications, were the first three life-threatening illnesses.
He said total OPD attendance for the first half of the year was 17,398 with 2,209 being total admissions during the period under review.
The hospital manager revealed that the facility recorded 48 deaths within the period with 518 surgeries.