New Abirem Hospital call for assistance and equipment

Management of the New Abirem District Hospital has called for assistance in providing a theatre block and equipment to improve health delivery in the area. The management is appealing to the general public, corporate organizations, Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and philanthropists to come to their aid.

Dr Adams Mahami, Medical Superintendent of the hospital, made the appeal when the Ghana Hope Foundation, together with the Ntiamoah Foundation, both NGOs, and Newmont Golden Ridge Limited, presented medical equipment worth $234,404 donated by Willamette Valley Medical Centre in the United States of America (USA) to the hospital.

He said the hospital always needed to borrow theatre equipment from neigbouring hospitals before being able to perform surgeries for patients saying “last year we had to borrow anesthesia machines from the Kyebi Government and the Tetteh Quarshie Memorial hospitals for a medical team from the Willamette Valley medical Centre in the USA to perform a number of surgeries for our patients.”

Dr Mahami said the situation had affected the effective health delivery in the district as the hospitals who lend such medical equipment come for them after a very short time and so had to refer cases they could not handle to hospitals which were far from the area.

He expressed his profound gratitude to the USA based medical centre and the three organizations for making it possible for them to acquire the equipment and promised to make good use of them.

The medical equipment presented included microscope, sterile pad, medical rubes, maternity supply, respiratory supply, medical gloves, beds, wheel chairs, gauze and dresses.

Professor Boadi, Executor Director of the Legon Centre for Democratic Development (CDD), said the 40-footer container of the medical equipment cost $100,000 while the foundation and Newmont paid for the cost of freight and insurance of the items.

Mr Paul Ampadu, the Community Development Manager of the Newmont Akyem Project, said as part of its Corporate Social Responsibility, the company had assisted the hospital to solve some of its challenges such as construction of doctors’ bungalow, maternity block and nurses’ quarter, female and male wards.

He said the company had also provided a standby generator and small holder water system for the community and the hospital.

Dr John Neeld from the Willamette Valley Medical Centre, who presented the medical items, said the Centre would continue to assist the hospital to cater for the health needs of the people in the area.

Obrempong Kwesi Amo Kyeretwie, Chief of New Abirem, appealed to Newmont and other organizations to assist them in constructing a permanent theatre.