Stanbic Bank supports fight against Neonatal Jaundice

After carrying a baby for about nine months, the last thing a parent would want to hear is that their baby has been diagnosed with neonatal jaundice.

Neonatal jaundice, common among babies less than a month old, is the yellowing of the white portion of the eye or skin. If not given immediate attention, neonatal jaundice can lead to cerebral palsy, a condition that permanently affects children’s movement, muscle coordination and balance. Though dangerous, neonatal jaundice is curable.

Phototherapy is one way of treating neonatal jaundice is phototherapy, where the baby is put under blue light which helps to break down the bilirubin and clear the jaundice.

In the past six months, the Neonatal Unit at Ridge has had to treat over one hundred babies with neonatal jaundice. The Unit, however, has only four Neonatal Phototherapy Machines, two of which do not function properly and thus take longer in treating the babies.

It is for this reason that the OPS Unit of Stanbic Bank has donated a Neonatal Phototherapy Machine to the Ridge Hospital. The initiative is part of the activities streamlined to mark the celebration of OPS Week.

According to Prince Anderson, from the Operations Unit of Stanbic Bank, staff of the Unit identified this life saving initiative and contributed towards it. The Bank then supported the staff to buy this machine by doubling the amount they had raised.

“We found out that a lot of hospitals in Ghana need Neonatal Phototherapy Machines to treat the many babies born with signs of jaundice,” he said. “A number of our staff are parents, some of whose children have once had this condition, and so they understood the importance of contributing to buy this machine.”

According to Dr. Hilary Andoh, Head of Neonatal Department for Child Health, Ridge Hospital, the Neonatal Phototherapy machine donated by Stanbic is much needed as it will ease the load on the machines they have so far.

“Ridge is a referral center so we treat a lot of referral cases in addition to the babies delivered here,” Dr Andoh said.

“Sometimes we are forced to refer some of the Jaundice cases to Korle-Bu and 37 Military Hospital. With this new machine, we will be able to treat and discharge the babies faster and admit more babies. No jaundiced newborn requiring phototherapy should die from the condition, as it is curable. ”

Dr. Thomas Ninson Anabah, Director of Ridge Hospital, commended the Operations Unit for contributing towards the improvement of Ghana’s health care delivery system.

Stanbic Bank’s OPS Week is celebrated annually to foster team work and unity as well as devise ways of improving in productivity. Every year, staff of the Operations Unit of Stanbic Bank crown the OPS Week celebration with a CSR initiative.

Some of the projects undertaken over the years include painting of the Children’s Block of Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital and donations to various orphanages in the country. These projects are in line with the Bank’s commitment to supporting society in the areas of health, education, sports, agriculture, environment and poverty relief.