Authorities at Shai Osudoku District Hospital appeal for a new NICU

Authorities of the Shai Osudoku District Hospital in Dodowa in the Shai Osudoku District of the Greater Accra Region are seeking to raise funds to build a new Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) to enable the facility offer the highest level of neonatal intensive care possible to new born babies.

Doctor Kennedy Brightson, Director of the Hospital who said the ultimate aim of the facility is to establish a high-level neonatal unit said though the hospital currently runs a NICU at its maternity unit, it is inadequate considering the number of neonates born at the facility who need care as well as referrals from various parts of the region.

To enable the hospital to successfully undertake this responsibility, authorities say support from Corporate Ghana and various stakeholders would be critical.

Speaking in an interview with this reporter, the Director of the hospital said plans were underway to raise funds to build a new unit and buy extra equipment to enhance the unit to ensure that all the babies would be treated in the best possible environment.

“Our number one need presently is to build a new Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. Our NICU with time has rather grown to be small. They are getting a lot of referrals from across the region and across our district and beyond so we need a bigger NICU, maybe a 60 cot NICU so that we can continue taking care of the babies that are born prematurely,” said Dr. Kennedy Brightson.

According to him, authorities of the facility hope to progressively build a new unit which it is anticipated will help offer better care for infants with needs.

He maintains that the hospital needs assistance to help build, equip and enhance a new Unit as with new specialist equipment, it will be able to treat hundreds of babies each year and save even more precious lives.

The Dodowa hospital, explained the Director, remains a major referral point for most cases and because of this and an increasing birth rate, demand for its specialist services has significantly outstripped resources.

The doctor who said building a NICU remains a priority to him and management of the hospital appealed to various stakeholders including Corporate Ghana to come on board and support it in its efforts to put up the new facility.

According to him, the hospital already has a site for the construction of the facility as soon as funds are available.

“We have the site, we have allocated the site…all you need is to come and dig the ground and raise the structure for us,” he appealed.