Death of 2-year-old at Korle Bu: 'Value for life campaigners' demand release of scan machines

A group calling itself “value for life campaigners” has petitioned the management of the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital over the death of a two-year-old girl due to the non-functional CT scans at the hospital. The 2-year old girl died at the premises of the Korle Bu teaching hospital after failed attempts to get an ambulance to transfer her for a CT scan at Osu per the directions from the Korle Bu Hospital.

According to her father, the little girl, was brought from Dodowa to seek treatment at the 37 Military Hospital but was referred to the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital considering her condition. She was turned away from Korle Bu with the excuse that the CT scan machines at the hospital were defective.

The group predominantly made up of members of the Radio Gold morning show whilst presenting the petition to the Director of Administration of KBTH, Nuru-deen Mohammed said, their “investigations at the hospital showed that the CT scan has been nonfunctional for the past three months”

Handing over the petition on behalf of the group, Samuel Eshun, Programs Director at Radio Gold said, reporters from his outfit tried to get clarifications as to why the CT scan was not working but they weren’t granted audience.

Speaking to journalist on the sidelines, Abdul Kadin Lomotey-Tagoe an elderly man who lost his 21-year-old niece two weeks ago due to the malfunctioned CT scan said, “I lost my niece two weeks ago because the CT scan here at Korle Bu is not working, she was knocked down by a motorbike, we brought her here and we were turned away, the people here kept telling us to come later, we were tossed about till we lost her” he said.

Former Deputy Minister of Food and Agriculture, Hanna Bissiw who was part of the petitioners said, there are CT scans that were bought by the Mahama government sitting at the hospital unused.

According to her, the current administration does not want the person in charge of the operation of the machine to work on it anymore.

“The little girl was stabilized at 37 military Hospital and was referred here only for her to die because they was no CT scan to detect what was wrong with her” she said.

Receiving the petition on behalf of the hospital, Mr. Nuru-deen Mohammed said management of the hospital has taken notice of their concerns and assured them that the CT scan is been worked on.

“I assure you that the CT scan is being repaired as I speak to you, we have also made a visit to the Minister of Health who assured us that another CT scan will be purchased for the hospital” he said.

The petitioners matched to the premises of the Korle Bu teaching Hospital to meet the Minister of Health, Kwaku Agyemang-Manu who was there to inaugurate the new management board on Friday, July 13.