Dr. Joseph Darko, Clinical Coordinator and Head of the Emergency Team at Apinto Government hospital in the Western region has reiterated calls for more persons to donate blood to help save victims of the Apiate dynamite explosion, a Citinewsroom report has stated.
Five maimed adults and a seven-month-old baby are currently being treated by the facility with the Municipal Hospital treating 43 persons.
Dr. Darko is quoted to have bemoaned a major health issue which is the lack of blood for treating affected patients from the explosion incident.
“One of the challenges we have in the country has got to do with blood. I don’t think we can ever say, we have enough blood”.
“So obviously, we need blood because apart from the people who came in injured as a result of this explosion, we have patients who are due for surgeries so we need more blood because there are people who were given one pint instead of three pints,” Dr. Darko said.
The aftermath of the explosion which involved a vehicle transporting explosives to a mining site colliding with a motorcycle, has left scars in the heart of many as the mining town is currently a shadow of itself.
Current development has it that a seven-month-old baby was part of persons that died as a result of the explosion. The baby died alongside 12 others, according to reports.
Speaking on Citi Fm, he said “We haven’t recorded any death yet at our facility [today], and the doctors at the other facilities have also not recorded any death yet. But the figures haven’t changed. It’s still the 13 people who have died. Yesterday, at the health facility, we certified about nine adults and one seven-month-old baby”.
Dr. Darko however assured that the admitted persons are responding to treatment.
“By and large, the patients are still responding to treatment. Some were sent to the theatre to be worked on. In my facility, we have one adult and a baby. A lot of them are doing well, but we have a few in critical situations, but plans are underway to airlift those whose injuries are quite critical,” he is quoted to have said.
Director-General of Police Public Affairs, ACP Kwesi Ofori, giving details in a media interaction on Friday, January 21, 2022, said 96 out of 190 casualties have been discharged from the hospital with 36 still receiving treatment.