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Make referrals to tertiary hospitals fast — Dr Asare

Mr Sarpong and his deputy, Mrs Pokua Sawyerr, in one of the laboratories of the hospital with Dr Asare.The Medical Director of the Cape Coast Teaching Hospital, Dr Daniel Asare, has asked smaller hospitals in the region to refer patients to the teaching hospital on time to help avoid fatalities.

He said although the hospital was a referral one, it could only help patients if they were referred there promptly.

Dr Asare, who was briefing the Central Regional Minister, Mr Samuel Sarpong, when the minister paid a working visit to the hospital last Wednesday, said because of delays in referring cases to the tertiary hospital, last year 80 people were sent to the hospital dead.

He also called on all stakeholders to intensify education on teenage pregnancy to help reduce the number of pregnancies, especially among teenagers.

Dr Asare said that would help reduce maternal and infant mortality at the hospital and in the Central Region and help achieve targets set out in the Millennium Development Goals.

He said the hospital had increased its bed capacity from 265 to 360 and added that it would increase its capacity to 400 beds by the end of this year.

“We have also reduced waiting time at the hospital from six to three hours and records retrieval time from two hours to 10 minutes to improve health delivery to clients,” he said.

He said the hospital was working to retain the doctors expected to pass out from the University of Cape Coast School of Medical Sciences for at least a year to boost health service delivery.

Dr Asare said the management of the hospital was concerned about accommodation for staff, inadequate supply of water to facilities and encroachment on the hospital’s land.

Mr Sarpong toured the hospital’s facilities and land and warned encroachers that the regional administration would take drastic actions to reclaim any encroached land.

He commended the hospital for its excellence and gave an assurance that the Regional Coordinating Council would work to ensure that a hostel facility for the Cape Coast Nurses and Midwifery Training College on the hospital’s land had power and water to enable the management of the school to take over.

The Principal of the college, Mrs Cecilia Mensah, said it was expected that about 500 first-year students to be admitted next month could be housed in the hostel.

By Shirley Asiedu-Addo/Daily Graphic/Ghana

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