Inside of the newly constructed block
The congestion at the Child Health Emergency Unit of the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital (KBTH), which puts parents under undue pressure and leaves health officers with no choice than to treat three to four patients on the same bed, seems to be easing somehow following the construction of a new block.
The GH¢857,000 30-bed capacity block, funded by Seidu Agongo, a businessman, was completed in December 2018 and is now ready for use by the unit after it was handed over officially to the hospital management.
The new block would more than double the bed capacity of the unit and make it possible for health officers to attend to more emergency cases.
Mr. Agongo, who is the founder of Heritage Bank Limited (under receivership), told journalists after the tour that he took the decision to construct the facility for the unit after witnessing at first-hand congestion at the place.
He recalled that in 2017, he visited the unit to console one of his secretaries who had lost her baby and noticed that there were four babies sharing a cot meant for one while some patients were receiving treatment on the bare floor.
He said upon enquiry, he was told that the unit had space limitation.
“One officer, Dr. Otoo, jokingly asked if I was going to build them a new block and we all laughed over it,” he said.
The Head of the Department of Child Health at KBTH, Prof. Ebenezer Badoe, thanked Mr. Agongo for his kind gesture.
He said the department can function more effectively if government and the private sector resource it adequately.
Lack of space for staff and patients and skilled human resource, Prof. Badoe revealed, are some of the challenges being faced by the department.
Giving a picture of congestion at the old block, matron of the Child Emergency Unit, Evangeline Narh, said the unit which had 22 beds was overwhelmed by the increasing number of cases that were being admitted to the emergency unit.
She averred that about 30 cases were reported daily during peak periods, with the figure rising to about 50 cases per day – almost twice the capacity of the unit.
Madam Narh was optimistic with the addition of the new block, pressure on the unit would ease up and make it possible for more patients to be admitted.
By Jamila Akweley Okertchiri