The Ridge Hospital in Accra is struggling to attend to the increasing number of cholera patients reporting at the hospital for treatment.
The head of the Out Patients Department (OPD) of the hospital, Dr Oduro Mensah says the hospital does not have enough personnel to attend to the patients.
“We are really hard pressed now. We’ve gotten referrals from other facilities now which shouldn’t be referring to us and this puts a lot of pressure on the staff. Our staff are really stressed,” he complained.
He disclosed that the hospital recorded its first confirmed cholera case on the June 26, 2014 and has since recorded a total of 204 cases with no death.
Speaking in an interview with Citi News, Dr. Oduro explained that aside the inadequate personnel, “we do have what we need.”
According to him, patients reporting to the hospital “are from our environs such as Adabraka, Osu, Kanda, Paloma, Kokomlemle and we have a few from Lartebiokorshie, Nungua and we even have a couple of cases from Amasaman and La.”
Meanwhile, the management of the La General Hospital have denied media reports it is turning away patients because they are overwhelmed with cholera cases.
They assured the general public that they are well equipped to treat all cholera cases.
The Hospital has so far treated 171 cases of cholera, out of which five people have lost their lives.
Speaking to Citi News, Chief Administrator at the hospital, Philip Afeti Korto said although a large number of people report frequently at the hospital with the disease, they have put in place the necessary measures to contain the situation.
“We have the logistics that we need to treat the patients; talk about the medicine and the staff. They are there 24/7 and so that is why I am taken aback that some media houses are reporting that we are turning patients away. It’s far from the truth,” he said.
In a related development, the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) is embarking on a bin distribution exercise to basic schools in the metropolis to help prevent the spread of cholera.
Speaking in an interview with Citi News, the Public Relation Officer (PRO) of the AMA, Nuumo Blafo said the assembly is also embarking on a massive education exercise to sensitize residents on the cholera disease.
By: Efua Idan Osam/citifmonline.com/Ghana