Asesewa Hospital: Where children are admitted at the female ward

The Asesewa Government Hospital in the Eastern region is struggling to provide quality healthcare to close to 100,000 residents in the District due to infrastructural and logistical constraints.

Authorities of the Hospital have therefore placed an SOS calls for urgent intervention by government and philanthropists to ameliorate the plight of the hospital.

The hospital has recently come under criticism over the death of a 42-year-old Mother and her 25-year-old daughter during Childbirth at the facility within a two-week interval.

The deceased persons, Mable Maku Tekpertey and Sarah Tekpertey, mother and daughter respectively have since been buried side by side at their Dawatrim village in near Assesewa .

The bereaved family blames medical ineffectiveness at the Assesewa Hospital for the harrowing incidents.

The distress Asesewa Government Hospital was initially established as a Health Center but in 2006 when the district was established, it was converted into a district Hospital without any major additional infrastructural and logistics till date despite providing secondary healthcare to the entire district .

The weak primary healthcare structures in deprived farming communities in the District, is putting more pressure on the struggling Asesewa Government Hospital which records an average of 150 OPD attendance daily.

Poor Theatre and no ambulance

The Hospital had to convert a small room which served as a maternity ward into a Theater with only one operating room hence multiple emergences cases including Pregnant women who need Caesarean Section to deliver have to be admitted in turns or referred to Koforidua depending on the condition while minor surgeries are carried out on the veranda of the theater.

Emmanuel Danso, a Certified anaesthetist at the Hospital told Starr News “we need lots of equipment here but we always improvise to make our clients happy. We appeal for help at our main theater, our machines are out of date, we lack many logistics. We need a complete maternity ward, for now after surgery all patients are moved to maternity ward for recovery we don’t have recovery room, no waiting room, we do minor surgeries at this Veranda so we need help”.

Even with emergency referrals, the only Ambulance available is in poor condition hence easily breaks down on the road therefore patients in emergency conditions are mostly transported in Taxi cabs.

No paediatric ward, empty blood bank

The Hospital has no Paediatric Ward hence children are admitted at female ward exposing the infants to other health problems.

The Blood Bank of the Hospital is always virtually empty due to the perception of the residents about blood donation hence reluctant to donate blood. Due to the blood shortage, sometimes, surgeries are referred. Pregnant women who suffer sudden complications of haemorrhage lose their lives.

Appeal by management

The Administrator at the Asesewa Government Hospital, Felix Osei Safo told Starr News the pressing challenge of the Hospital is the poor state of the theater which needs to be addressed to save lives.

“We need a modern theatre fully equipped with a recovery ward, also we want people to donate blood to the hospital, we also need Ambulance, at least if the District will have an ambulance to serve the entire district. We also need accommodation for our staff, Nurses and Doctors always go back after being posted here because there is no accommodation. Most staff live in Koforidua hence commute everyday to work”.

Currently, there are only two(2) Medical Doctors at the Hospital working 24 hours without rest because of the pressure on them.

The District Chief Executive’s reaction

Felix Nartey Adjao ,told Starr News the Assembly is cognisant of the challenges facing the Hospital hence some efforts are being made to fix some of the challenges within the means of the Assembly. He said already, a Generator Plant has been purchased for the Hospital, whiles a Toilet facility is being constructed.