Kwahu (Eastern Region) -? Lack of residential accommodation has compelled the management of the Kwahu government hospital at Atibie-Kwahu in the Eastern Region to pair both male and female nurses in one room.
The only dentist posted to the hospital was accommodated at a hotel for a very long time before some passable residential accommodation was found for him.
This shocking revelation was made by the senior medical officer at the hospital, Dr Osei Bonsu, when he received drugs and some hospital materials donated by the United Kwahu Association, a benevolent society of Kwahu based citizens based in the USA and Canada.
He said the situation has forced many of the nurses to leave for other hospitals while others have refused to be posted there. He described it as ?very serious? due to the many number of patients and cases the hospital receives each day.
He also complained of the lack of transport for nurses and other staff of the hospital. Since most of them reside far away from the hospital it is dangerous for them to go on night duties. He commended the group and all those who have been assisting the hospital over the years.
Presenting the items, the president of the association, Sunku-Sunku Donkor, said it has been the aim of the group to assist in education and health in the Kwahu area. He called on other citizens living abroad to go home and assist their motherland to develop fast.
The Atibie Government Hospital, which was founded and run for years by the Seven Day Adventist Church before being taken over, is one of the most strategic in the Eastern Region.
Situated about 1km from Mpraeso, the capital of Kwahu South District, the hospital serves most of the heavily populated district and one of the nation?s food baskets: the Afram Plains District.
Together with the Nkawkaw Holy Family Hospital which is a mission facility, Atibie serves the Birim North and parts of Asante Akyem South and East Akyem Districts.
Both hospitals receive motor accident victims rushed there from the accident-prone Accra-Kumasi road almost on daily basis. Meanwhile, the Kwahu South District Assembly has assisted the hospital to complete a staff quarters which could house two people.
The District Chief Executive, Raymond Osafo Djan, promised to continue the assistance to enable the hospital to solve all the accommodation problems. He however said the government alone cannot solve all the problems and therefore called on others to give a helping hand.
