Bole residents protest over transfer of coronavirus victims to Bole hospital

Some residents of Bole in the Savannah are protesting against plans by health authorities to transfer Coronavirus patients from other parts of the Savannah Region to the Bole District Hospital without adequate measures being put in place to contain any spread of the Coronavirus in the town which has not yet recorded any case.

Several people during the phone-in segment of Bole based Nkilgi FM’s morning show on 18th June, 2020 kicked against the move with some serving notice that they will organise a demonstration if the decision is not reversed by the Ghana Health Service authorities of the Region.

A popular resident of Bole Mr Amin Jajah asked if adequate measures have been put in place at the Bole District hospital to prevent the spread of the Coronavirus when the victims from other parts of the Savannah Region are brought to Bole.

Mr Jajah explained to Bole based Nkilgi FM that information available indicates the Coronavirus isolation centre at the Bole District Hospital is not well equipped like other hospitals and so the victims should rather be moved to areas there are well-equiped hospitals to prevent in order to prevent the spread of the virus.

He disclosed that a meeting will be held by the Youth of Bole to deliberate on the issue and then get their position on the matter to the Bole District Assembly and Bole District Health Directorate.

Nkilgi FM spoke to the Bole District Director of Ghana Health Service Mr David Bakuri on the morning show on 18th June, 2020 on the issue and he confirmed there are discussions to the information that coronavirus positive victims will be transported from other Districts in the Savannah Region the Bole hospital but no Coronavirus victim has yet been brought to Bole.

“I want to put on record that, in Savannah Region, there are three treatment centers for COVID-19 and the centres are Bole hospital, Damongo hospital and Salaga hospital. So what it means is that, these centres are for the whole Savannah Region and for that matter the whole country. They are not meant for only Bole or Damongo so they can transfer anybody from anywhere to the centre”; he said.

He also added that;

“They make you a center because they think that your facility is up to standard, is capable to manage the case and So we have the capacity that’s we are a centre and so if their speculations that they are going to bring cases doesn’t mean they hate us or they are bringing the cases to come and infect us. No!”.

Mr Bakuri further explained; “Remember that Central Gonja has no Hospital, North Gonja has no Hospital. So it is only Bole, Damongo and Salaga that has hospitals. So if Central Gonja has a Case, where will the keep them? They have to share them among us and so nobody should think that is politics or nobody should think that is because of the hate Bole. Is because the thing that we can manage them and they are not bringing it from Kumasi is within Savannah Region”.

The Bole District Health Director of Ghana Health Service added;

“If you listened to the news you would’ve heard the Ashanti Regional Director complaining of their centres been full and they are going to transfer cases and so is the same thing. There is nothing different. So I want to beg the politicians there is no need covering it with politics. If the need information the should come to and speculating, Central Gonja has no Hospital. It is not the minister or the DCE DCE that’s bringing it but is we the Ghana Health Service”.

The Savannah Regional Minister Hon Adam Salifu Braimah also addressed a press conference at the Savannah Regional Coordinating Council in Damongo on 18th June, 2020 on the COVID-19 situation in the Region and disclosed that authorities have so far been able to put in place 3 isolation centers in Damongo, Salaga and Bole with each centre capable of receiving more than 30 persons.