A patient on one of the benches at the health centre
Patients have been compelled to lie on benches and the bare floor to undergo treatment over the lack of beds at the Daboya and Mankarigu Health Centers in the North Gonja District of the Savannah Region.
Nurses at the facility have been compelled to discharge patients on admission quickly to create space for other patients who are lying on benches and the bare floor at the facility to receive medical care.
At the Daboya Health Centre, the few beds available which are inadequate for the patients are broken down and in a bad state.
At the Mankarigu Health Centre some patients had to receive treatment under a tree due to the lack of beds at the facility.
A patient at the Mankarigu Health Centre was compelled to sit on a plastic chair to undergo treatment due to the lack of beds at the facility.
“I came for treatment but the nurses told me that they do not have a bed for me so I have been given a chair to sit on it whiles they treat me”, a patient said.
Residents of Daboya and Mankarigu have therefore called on the government and the Ministry of Health to ensure that the situation is given the needed attention.
The Nurse Assistant at the Daboya Health Centre, Kwame Ebenezer, lamented about the lack of beds adding that health care is greatly affected by the situation.
“The lack of bed situation at the facility is a great challenge to us because when we receive cases how to take care of them properly is difficult due to the lack of beds. We had to resort to something like a shift where some patients lie on the bed for like two hours and when their condition is stabilized we discharge them,” he said.
The Sustainable Development Goal 3 calls for ensuring health and well-being for all aimed at achieving universal health coverage, and providing access to safe and effective medicines and vaccines for all.
But the current lack of beds situation at the Daboya and Mankarigu Health Centres prevents residents from accessing quality health care which negatively impacts the country’s efforts in achieving the SDG 3.
BY Eric Kombat, Daboya