Chief, staff appeal to government to upgrade Esiama health center to district hospital

Correspondence from Western Region

The Chief and elders of Esiama community in the Ellembelle District of the Western Region, have called on government of Ghana to upgrade the Esiama health center to the status of a district hospital.

Esiama is one of the biggest, populated and a commercial towns in Ellembelle District with over 20,000 population but the only health facility the community has, cannot give adequate healthcare services to its people and other adjoining communities.

The Esiama health center was built on May 2, 1936.

The facility, according to management, receives 60 patients per a day.

A visit to the facility by GhanaWeb Western Regional Correspondent, sighted an uncompleted ward facility which had been abandoned for so many years.

Our correspondent also observed that some hospital beds in the facility were deteriorating.

Speaking in an exclusive interview with GhanaWeb, Michael Gyamprah, Head of Pharmacy at Esiama Health center, expressed worry about the abandoned ward facility and described it as a death trap.

"There are major challenges facing this facility, the first one has to do with the abandoned ward because when I came I realized that they had put up a ward but it has been abandoned for so many years, I'm told some residents of Esiama in diaspora were building it. It is now risky, it looks like a death trap", he said.

He disclosed that the facility does not have proper detention room to detain patients on daily basis.

"As I'm talking, Esiama Health Center, we don't have a detention room, it is only a small room we use as a detention room for both males, females and children, which is not good good at. Imagine you have a male and a female at the same time that you need to detain, it is convenient for the patients, and even not the staff working here because you could also become a victim... ", he said.

He highlighted other challenges facing the health center.

"We have a laboratory but currently there is no air condition in it, we don't have any air condition at all, not even to talk about where I keep my drugs that is also one of the challenges we are facing now because ideally where drugs are kept need to have an air condition

The general facility itself needs total renovation. Looking at Esiama, looking at the population and the strategic place it occupied at least the health center we can expand it...the facility is too small.. ", he stated.

He, therefore, appealed to Ghana Gas Company and other companies to come to their aid.

On his part, the Chief of Esiama, Nana Ainoo Kwagyan III said Esiama deserves a better hospital to provide healthcare to good people of the area and its surroundings.

"What I'm saying is that corporate bodies around we believe that there are a lot of pressure on them but they are doing well for their various communities but I believe that Esiama is a town of a population over 20,000 deserves better, if you go to the facility, it is one of the aged facilities in Ellembelle District, it was built on the 2nd May 1936 and you will see that it doesn't have a place to keep two people when they are sick", he worried.

He took the opportunity to appeal to government and other companies to expand the Esiama health center to provide good health services to patients in and around Esiama.

"I will appeal to corporate societies to help Esiama community, Esiama community needs your support, we need a District Hospital here, the current health center is not good shape... I am appealing to Adamus, Ghana Gas Company, ENI gas, Quantum and other companies to help, Esiama needs your help... ", he called.

He also seized the opportunity to appeal to the IGP to post more police officers to Esiama police station to provide security for people of Esiama.

Watch the video of this story below: