Upper West fully prepared to deal with COVID-19 - Prosper Lana

Prosper Lana, the Head of Administration at the Upper West Regional Hospital, has given the assurance that the hospital has put in place measures to manage suspected cases of the deadly Coronavirus (COVID-19).

He said the facility had set aside an isolated centre for suspected cases, while staff at the hospital had been trained to detect flu-like virus for the needed actions to be taken.

Mr Lana gave the assurance in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in Wa on the preparedness of the facility to manage the COVID-19 in the region and measures taken to protect the staff of the facility from being infested by the virus.

He said the facility took delivery of some Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) including; hand sanitizers and nose masks from the Upper West Regional Health Directorate

That, he noted, was to enable the staff to protect themselves against the COVID-19, while plans were advanced to provide more PPEs for the staff.

Mr Lana explained that the staff of the hospital was on the “red alert” to identify any suspected case of the virus.

He added that two medical doctors from the hospital were part of the Regional Task Force team on the COVID-19 currently undergoing special training as part of efforts to strengthen the capacity of the facility to manage the virus.

At the Wa Municipal Hospital, Dr Nabil Dekpeh, the Medical director for the facility told the GNA that they took steps to manage suspected cases of the COVID-19 at the facility.

He said three designated facilities in the region – the Upper West Regional Hospital, Jirapa District and Tumu Municipal Hospitals – to manage suspected COVID-19 cases.

Dr Dekpeh said though the Wa Municipal Hospital was not part of the designated facility, it had identified an isolation centre to manage suspected cases of the virus before transferring them to the designated facilities.

He said the facility also provided hand sanitizers and handwashing facilities for the staff and planned to provide the handwashing facilities at vantage points at the hospital to serve patients.

Dr Dekpeh explained that they were also educating the patients and their relatives at the facility to enable them protect themselves against the disease and to detect suspected cases.

He advised the public and the health staff to observe proper personal hygiene such as covering their nose and mouths when sneezing and coughing as the current recommendations, and regular use of hand sanitizers to help protect them against the virus.

Dr Dekpeh added that the public health unit of the hospital was educating the public on the COVID-19 to enlighten them on the disease.

Meanwhile, a visit to some bus terminals in Wa revealed that some transport station operators were yet to follow the public health directives on the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Intercity State Transport Cooperation (STC) and O. A Travel and Tours provided hand sanitisers and nose masks for both passengers and staff.

Other bus terminals such as the Neoplan Sky Boss Bus Terminal, Royal VVIP, Wa-Tamale bus terminal, and the GPRTU were yet to put in place the necessary steps to help curb the spread of the COVID-19.