We need mothers’ hostel - Ho Teaching Hospital appeals
Mothers of preterm babies at the Ho Teaching Hospital (HTH) usually sleep on the bare floor while waiting for their children to be discharged.
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This is because there is no mothers’ hostel at the hospital.
The Head of Paediatric and Child Health Unit of HTH, Dr Bright Danyo, said some of the mothers sometimes waited for between six and 12 weeks, sleeping on the floor while their babies received incubator care.
He has, therefore, appealed to the government and the general public for help to put up a hostel dedicated to the mothers.
Dr Danyo made the appeal when an Accra-based Kokrokoo Charities, a non-governmental organisation (NGO), donated an incubator worth about $4000 to the hospital.
This brings to three the number of baby incubators donated to HTH by Kokrokoo Charities since 2018.
In addition to the incubators, the NGO, in collaboration with Irish Pub and Lodge in Accra, and Villandro Palms, Ho, also donated a large consignment of paper towels, scrubs, clogs and two refrigerators to the hospital.
Incubators
Dr Danyo further said that the hospital, which recorded an average of 300 preterm babies annually, now had 11 functional incubators, adding that the mortality rate of preterm babies had dropped by 15 per cent in recent times.
“Last year, for instance, four babies left the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) in good health,” he said, adding that Weta and Adidome hospitals in the Volta Region now had NICU.
Dr Danyo, however, said the unit at HTH lacked adequate staff and data.
He said the hospital had built a smartphone platform to augment its social support structure to enhance its outreach activities.
Pledge
The Founder of Kokrokoo Charities, Kwami Sefa Kayi, who made the presentation, announced plans by the organisation to acquire another baby incubator for HTH in the near future.
He also gave an assurance that his outfit would help put up a lodge for mothers with preterm babies at the hospital soon.
The event was witnessed by about 50 preterm baby mothers and some of their children some of whom had grown beyond toddlers.
