Asesewa residents await govt ambulance as hospital commissions emergency ward

The management of Asesewa Government Hospital has commissioned a modern Out-Patient Department with Consulting rooms, Pharmacy Unit, Male Ward, Records, and Accident and Emergency Unit built with Internally Generated Funds of the Hospital.

The Accident and Emergency Unit is expected to deliver quality and swift emergency medical care to save more lives of patients in emergency conditions, however, the only ambulance at the Hospital serving the entire District has grounded.

The frequent Mechanical failure of the aged Ambulance apart from being a bane on the limited financial resources of the Hospital, also threatened the lives of patients as the ambulance most times stall on the road while transporting patients.

The Medical Superintendent of the Hospital, Dr.Eric Danso Boateng explained that “We came to meet an Ambulance, but actually it was not working, we’ve tried to refurbish it on numerous occasion to the point that sometimes you will refer a case and along the way, the Ambulance gives up. Patients lose their lives because of a lack of Ambulance.

When it comes to maternal issues, quick referrals and Prompt attention are key.sometimes you see a woman bleeding from here to the next level of care is an hour drive but we don’t have an ambulance that can move by the speed of light”.

The lack of a functioning ambulance at the hospital is not only a source of worry to management but also residents particularly drivers in the area who have been using their commercial vehicles to transport dying patients. Both are therefore waiting with bated breath government’s announcement to give an ambulance to every district on January 6, 2020.

“Our roads are bad, secondly we don’t have a functioning ambulance at our hospital so during emergency situation they use commercial vehicles sometimes the taxi cannot pick because the patients are on drip and oxygen. When an accident happens, we use commercial cars here to convey the victims. So here patients die always due to lack of Ambulance. So we beg the government that we are waiting for the ambulance next year”

Despite the recent expansion of infrastructure by management seeking to improve quality healthcare delivery, the hospital is still faced with challenges. A room that served as a maternity ward has been converted into operating theatre taking care of patients in turn.

“Even with all these that we’ve done there is a lot to be done. The hospital compound is so dusty, it is so muddy When it rains. We have one improvised operating theatre so supposing we have two emergencies what do you think will happen, one may have to die because the theatre can cater to one case at a time. As it stands we don’t have children’s ward. Where we are using as children’s ward was calved from the female ward so the kids and females are Sharing the same ward. You can imagine the trauma the Children go through when someone passes on”.The Medical Superintendent, Dr. Eric Danso Boateng lamented.

The depressing Challenges of the Hospital discouraged OPD attendance which dropped from 35,000 in 2014 to 28,414 in 2017 through prudent interventions by management OPD attendance is rising again. In 2018 for instance, total OPD attendance increased to 32480.

The District Health Director, Esther Adu Oyinka said patients privacy were compromised “four people in one Consulting room was so unheard-of,it was so disheartening to see our clients in that state. Aside from that the hospital did not have Male Ward so the males were mingled with females with children as well. There was no emergency ward so the new facilities are timely. I wish to take this opportunity to commend Management for this feat”.

Citation of Honor was given to the Medical Superintendent, Dr.Eric Danso Boateng by Management for his ingenuity and zeal in mobilizing and judiciously using Internal funds for the construction of the new facilities within three years of assumption of office.

Upper Manya Rural Bank was acknowledged for supporting the project with 300 bags of Cement.

Asesewa Hospital was established in 1959 as a health center but was converted into a district hospital by default -that is, without expansion of facilities.