Acute water shortage hits Ridge Hospital

The Ridge Hospital in Accra has been hit by shortage in water supply for the past two weeks, Adom News investigations have revealed.

Both patients and medical officers buy sachet water to conduct surgeries.

The problem is so serious that some surgeries have had to be postponed because the orderlies do not get water to wash hospital equipment and robes which the surgeons use for surgeries.

Some nurses at the hospital told Adom News Reporter, Yayra Mawuenyega the main taps have not been flowing for the past two weeks so the orderlies have been fetching water from a standby Polytank, which is also fast running out.

But some of the patients on admission said they are forced to buy water from the Polytank at 50Gp per bucket, while the mothers of children on admission at the Children’s Ward said they buy sachet water to wash their children.

Adom News learnt that some mothers are also being forced allegedly, to buy disposable robes at GHC55 for surgeons to conduct surgeries on them or on their children.

The Deputy Chief Health Service Administrator of the Hospital, Dr. Kwame Opoku confirmed the problem exists and attributed it to damaged boreholes in the hospital.

He said the hospital is forced to buy water from commercial water tankers at GHC800 per day but that has become difficult because “since May the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) has not paid them monies owed the hospital.”

Dr. Opoku said the water shortage problem happens every year but no permanent solution has been found yet.

A highly placed source at the hospital said they have a difficulty complaining to government about the water problem and the arrears owed it by the NHIA because of an ongoing expansion project in the hospital, which is being sponsored by the state.

Adom News also found lots of patients sleeping on benches and in wheel chairs with drips on them in the hospital. Some of the patients confirmed they have been in that situation for days.

Dr. Opoku admitted the administration is aware of that challenge too, but that was because the number of patients referred to the hospital is way more than the space it could accommodate.

“We are told the expansion project will be complete in three years but we need a quicker intervention to accommodate the several patients referred to us otherwise the situation will get out of hand,” he said.