The Chief Executive Office of the Tamale Teaching Hospital Dr. Prosper Akambong has admitted that the facility is hit with oxygen shortage which has affected health delivery.
According to him, the oxygen supply has been a major issue because the facility did not have local experts to maintain the oxygen plant.
He explained that when the plant broke down, it became a problem since there was no local specialist to fix it.
“We have suggested that the new machines that will come with the second phase; there must be a local person in Ghana who must be able to maintain it.”
Dr. Prosper Akambong, stated that though the facility has complemented the low oxygen with oxygen purchases from Accra and Kumasi, they did not get the exact amount they requested.
“Sometimes you want 100 cylinders they tell you, we can’t give all our stock to you but we can only give you a certain amount.”
He said plans are far advanced to replace the oxygen plant indicating that they would be going to the ministry to get the approval and clearance to install a new plant.
He made this known to the media at the annual institutional performance meeting at the Tamale Teaching Hospital.
The Tamale Teaching Hospital has been in the news lately for the wrong reasons, and the gas incident is believed to be part of the mal-administration that has hit the hospital lately.
The situation has caused the facility to reportedly spend over GH¢15,000 weekly to buy oxygen from a company in Kumasi in the Ashanti Region.
The Northern Regional Minister, Salifu Saeed who was at the meeting, disclosed that a lot of reports had reached him about the hospital.
He therefore challenged the management and staff of the hospital to become proactive and change the bad public perception about them.
FROM Eric Kombat, Tamale