The state of the Hospital theatre
The Bongo District Hospital in the Upper East Region is faced with severe water shortage, forcing the facility to suspend some crucial surgical services.
The Bongo District Hospital has a history of recording frequent water shortages, just like many communities in the district, and in an attempt to address the water problem at the hospital, a philanthropic group recently donated a mechanised borehole to the district hospital.
Unfortunately, the hospital has gone back to its old days when it did not have water, hence forcing the hospital to refer even minor surgical cases to the regional hospital in Bolgatanga.
On Monday, March 27, the hospital’s management also had the shock of their lives when they got to work, only to realise that the pump that serves the facility had been taken away from the borehole, rendering it useless.
According to Dr William Gunu, Medical Superintendent of the Bongo Hospital, the absence of the pump is a big blow to the entire health facility and the district because the district hospital is the biggest referral facility in the district “and if it is not able to operate as expected, then people will have to bear extra cost, go through more pain to travel to Bolgatanga for treatment.”
The facility has no fence wall around it and so stealing of properties often occur. The Bongo District Assembly seems helpless, especially when there is no district chief executive to spearhead its decision-making processes.
Meanwhile, the Member of Parliament (MP) for the Bongo Constituency, Hon Edward Bawa, in an interview with a Bolgatanga-based radio station, Tanga Radio, has promised to raise funds for the replacement of the stolen pump for the hospital to handle surgical cases.
He expressed displeasure at the continuous stealing of public properties by individuals, which ends up affecting the entire district.
According to him, the district has witnessed several cases of such stealing at public institutions, including schools, where solar systems that provide light to children to learn at night are stolen.
He called on the people of Bongo to rise against the activities of criminals who live among them in the same community. The MP advised his people to report criminals to the police to deal with them according to the law, adding, “… Now, whoever stole the pump and accessories to the bore-hole is enjoying his benefits alone and yet the whole district is suffering.”
From Ebo Bruce-Quansah, Bongo