KATH surgeons protest unsafe theatre; call on gov’t to fix it

Surgeons at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) in Kumasi are protesting over the unsafe theatre used for surgeries.

The Surgeons are also complaining about the lack of basic equipment at the Surgery department. They claim that several complaints lodged with the management have not been resolved adding that the unsafe surgery could lead to deaths if the department is not refurbished immediately.

Speaking on Abusua FM on Friday, Dr Anthony Davor, a Pediatric surgeon at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, said basic equipment to treat children and critical emergencies are outdated and not fit for purpose.

"We have complained about several of these issues for a very long time but nothing happens. Sometimes they pretend to fix the challenges and then they suddenly stop. Our surgeries are not safe, they are not safe at all.

"We don't intend to embarrass anybody but the main issue is that our patients must be safe when they come for surgeries. What we need is the basic equipment to work. Our water heater broke down on January 3, it was only fixed last week after several complaints. In the ICU there are no even fans there but we work in the heat all the same."

Meanwhile, the PRO of the Hospital, Kwame Frimpong in response said, the management has put in place measures to address several of the issues raised by the Doctors. He added that the theatre will be renovated this year.

Mr Frimpong added that the management of the Hospital has made several investments over the years in ensuring the hospital is safe for both patients and doctors to work at. He also urged the Doctors to exhaust internal communication channels before moving to air their grievances to the media.

The protests by Doctors at KATH come after a renowned Neurosurgeon at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital appealed to the Akufo-Addo led government to abandon the plan to construct some 100 new hospitals and focus on investing the money in the establishment of a neuroscience centre.

Speaking on the Morning Starr on Wednesday, Dr Hadi Abdallah told host Francis Abban that building a neuroscience centre which the country lacks will help save hundreds of lives being lost on a daily basis at Korle Bu.

He added that building new regional and district hospitals without first constructing a major neuroscience centre will put more pressure on the already choked Korle Bu.

"I am calling on the government of Ghana to postpone the construction of the 111 health care centres or the district hospitals, at least forgo 10 of them and use that to build the neuroscience centre. Because if you build the neuroscience centre it is going to free up the spaces at the accident centre and the emergencies.

"If you go and build these district hospitals they will still be referring cases to Korle bu, Neuroscience doesn't have space. So I am hoping that this is what we would do."