{"id":165373,"date":"2015-11-09T06:00:34","date_gmt":"2015-11-09T06:00:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/4cd.e16.myftpupload.com\/?p=165373"},"modified":"2015-11-09T08:24:38","modified_gmt":"2015-11-09T08:24:38","slug":"patients-dying-as-korle-bu-burns-unit-icu-remains-abandoned","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/?p=165373","title":{"rendered":"Patients dying as Korle-Bu Burns unit ICU remains abandoned"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Intensive Care Unit of the Korle-Bu Reconstructive Plastic Surgery and Burns Centre has not been functioning since it\u00a0was inaugurated in 2010 by the Former First Lady, Ernestina Naadu Mills.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The situation, according to the\u00a0Director of the Korle-Bu Reconstructive Plastic Surgery and Burns Centre, Dr. Opoku Ware Ampomah,\u00a0is leading to needless loss of human lives.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Out of the three facilities inaugurated on that day, only the Reproductive Health Centre is fully functional.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The DNA and the Burns Units are not functioning as they have not been fully fortified with the necessary medical equipment.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/4cd.e16.myftpupload.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/ICU-2.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-165381 size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/4cd.e16.myftpupload.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/ICU-2.jpg\" alt=\"ICU 2\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" srcset=\"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/ICU-2.jpg 600w, https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/ICU-2-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/4cd.e16.myftpupload.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/ICU-3.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-165382 size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/4cd.e16.myftpupload.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/ICU-3.jpg\" alt=\"ICU 3\" width=\"667\" height=\"500\" srcset=\"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/ICU-3.jpg 667w, https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/ICU-3-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 667px) 100vw, 667px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Director of the Korle-Bu Reconstructive Plastic Surgery and Burns Centre, Dr. Opoku Ware Ampomah told journalists the neglect of the intensive care unit has caused people to die when they could have been saved.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/4cd.e16.myftpupload.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/ICU-6.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-165383 size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/4cd.e16.myftpupload.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/ICU-6.jpg\" alt=\"ICU 6\" width=\"667\" height=\"500\" srcset=\"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/ICU-6.jpg 667w, https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/ICU-6-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 667px) 100vw, 667px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u201cPeople who come in with severe burns need to be placed in an intensive care unit which is currently unavailable,\u201d Dr. Ampomah lamented.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u201dAccommodation is always a problem; we always have crowded out-patients and small bed spaces. Sometimes there are people who should be admitted but we can\u2019t. Sometimes people have minor burns that they could have survived, but because of the lack of an ICU unit, they lose their lives.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u201cA glimpse at the survival statistics indicates that, the average burn victim in the UK with a 30-40% of their bodies burnt has a survival chance of about 90%; a burn of 80% of their body has a survival chance of about 70%, unlike in our environment where someone with a 30-40% burn has a survival chance about of about 40% which is not the best\u201d he noted.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_165384\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-165384\" style=\"width: 667px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"http:\/\/4cd.e16.myftpupload.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/ICU-16.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-165384 size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/4cd.e16.myftpupload.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/ICU-16.jpg\" alt=\"Portions of the woodwork wasting away due to neglect.\" width=\"667\" height=\"500\" srcset=\"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/ICU-16.jpg 667w, https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/ICU-16-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 667px) 100vw, 667px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-165384\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Portions of the woodwork wasting away due to neglect.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/4cd.e16.myftpupload.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/ICU-5.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-165385 size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/4cd.e16.myftpupload.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/ICU-5.jpg\" alt=\"ICU 5\" width=\"450\" height=\"600\" srcset=\"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/ICU-5.jpg 450w, https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/ICU-5-225x300.jpg 225w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 450px) 100vw, 450px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">During a visit to the Korle Bu Reconstructive Plastic Surgery and Burns Centre, Citi News observed that on the third floor of the three-storey facility, thieves had broken through the window and ripped out electrical wires in the building.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/4cd.e16.myftpupload.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/ICU-8.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-165379 size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/4cd.e16.myftpupload.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/ICU-8.jpg\" alt=\"ICU 8\" width=\"500\" height=\"667\" srcset=\"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/ICU-8.jpg 500w, https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/ICU-8-225x300.jpg 225w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/4cd.e16.myftpupload.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/ICU-7.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-165380 size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/4cd.e16.myftpupload.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/ICU-7.jpg\" alt=\"ICU 7\" width=\"450\" height=\"600\" srcset=\"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/ICU-7.jpg 450w, https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/ICU-7-225x300.jpg 225w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 450px) 100vw, 450px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>$2 million dollars needed<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Dr. Opoku Ware Ampomah is appealing to benevolent individuals and corporate institutions to come to aid of the Korle-Bu Burns Unit.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/4cd.e16.myftpupload.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/ICU-14.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-165389 size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/4cd.e16.myftpupload.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/ICU-14.jpg\" alt=\"ICU 14\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" srcset=\"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/ICU-14.jpg 600w, https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/ICU-14-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_165388\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-165388\" style=\"width: 400px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"http:\/\/4cd.e16.myftpupload.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/ICU-12.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-165388 size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/4cd.e16.myftpupload.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/ICU-12.jpg\" alt=\"Dr. Ampomah expressing his frustrations about the neglect.\" width=\"400\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/ICU-12.jpg 400w, https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/ICU-12-225x300.jpg 225w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-165388\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Dr. Ampomah expressing his frustrations about the neglect.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u201cWe see an average of about 600 burn cases every year with a mortality rate of about 30%, this figure is something we can drive down\u201d he stated.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">According to him, about two million dollars is needed to get the abandoned intensive care unit fully functional.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/4cd.e16.myftpupload.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/ICU-9.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-165386 size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/4cd.e16.myftpupload.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/ICU-9.jpg\" alt=\"ICU 9\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" srcset=\"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/ICU-9.jpg 600w, https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/ICU-9-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u201cThe power of the individual should not be underestimated in helping get the unit running. After the June 3 disaster, mortality figures at the burns centre dropped because there were enough items donated by individuals that were used to treat patients. Out of all the victims from the June 3 disaster who were brought in, one person died because there was no ICU to take care of him.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Some of the equipment needed to get the center fully functional are Blood Gas Stabilizers, a generating plant, shower trolleys and oxygen plants. The unit currently has only one bath trolley.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_165387\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-165387\" style=\"width: 600px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"http:\/\/4cd.e16.myftpupload.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/ICU11.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-165387 size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/4cd.e16.myftpupload.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/ICU11.jpg\" alt=\"ICU11\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" srcset=\"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/ICU11.jpg 600w, https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/ICU11-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-165387\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The few equipment in the new ICU have also been abandoned.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The Korle Bu Reconstructive Plastic Surgery and Burns Centre is the largest of the three burns centres in the country.<\/p>\n<p>The other two are at the Okomfo Anokye Teaching Hospital and the 37 Military Hospital.<\/p>\n<p>This unit houses six of the twelve plastic surgeons in the country.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/4cd.e16.myftpupload.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/ICU-1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-165377 size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/4cd.e16.myftpupload.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/ICU-1.jpg\" alt=\"ICU 1\" width=\"667\" height=\"500\" srcset=\"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/ICU-1.jpg 667w, https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/ICU-1-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 667px) 100vw, 667px\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n&#8211;<br \/>\nBy: Kwame Botchway\/Citifmonline.com\/Ghana<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Intensive Care Unit of the Korle-Bu Reconstructive Plastic Surgery and Burns Centre has not been functioning since it\u00a0was inaugurated in 2010 by the Former First Lady, Ernestina Naadu Mills. The situation, according to the\u00a0Director of the Korle-Bu Reconstructive Plastic Surgery and Burns Centre, Dr. Opoku Ware Ampomah,\u00a0is leading to needless loss of human lives. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":27,"featured_media":165374,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"jnews_override_counter":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[15,43,38],"class_list":["post-165373","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-chinese","tag-foresight-medical-center","tag-palaver-newspaper"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/165373","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/27"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=165373"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/165373\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/165374"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=165373"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=165373"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=165373"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}