WA REGIONAL HOSPITAL SEES IMPROVEMENT (PAGE 40)

THE Wa Regional Hospital, the only referral hospital in the Upper West Region, is now having a facelift.
A number of philanthropic individuals, institutions, organisations have supplemented the efforts of the hospital’s administration to achieve its objective of giving the hospital some facelift
The hospital was fast deteriorating as far as infrastructure, human resource, among other things, were concerned but now it has been given some hope through the support of some benevolent individuals, and non governmental organisations (NGOs) in addition to funds raised internally by the hospital administration.
Presently, the roads to the hospital which had been neglected over the years have been tarred.
A Wa-based private road construction company, P.W. Ghanem, has responded to the numerous appeals by the hospital administrators by tarring the deplorable roads as part of its social responsibility to the people of the region.
The drains are also being constructed while the children’s ward is being renovated.
The ward is being rewired and the entire building is being re-roofed, while the cemented floor is being replaced with ceramic tiles. The whole block is also being receiled.
Speaking to the Daily Graphic about the state of the hospital in the run up to the construction of the proposed regional hospital, the Medical Director in charge of the hospital, Dr K. Abebrese, said it had not been easy for the hospital .
He stated that proceeds from the National AIDS Control Programme and the drug fund of the hospital, and some amount of funding from the National Tuberculosis Programme were being used to finance the projects being undertaken.
“Through these interventions, we have been able to put up a new hall which is being used as a waiting hall for people living with HIV/AIDS and for training programmes. We also have a new community psychiatry centre with support from Basic Needs, an NGO”, Dr Abebrese stated.
He added that the hospital laboratory had also undergone some refurbishment with support from funds from the National TB Programme.
Dr Abebrese said after completing those projects, the hospital administration would see to the improvement of the accommodation and bed situations at the hospital, adding, “Nobody would be admitted to sleep on the floor again”.
Throwing more light on the current state of the eye clinic at the hospital, the medical director was happy about the collaboration between the Swiss Red Cross and the Ghana Red Cross and for their foresight, saying “it was through their initiative that we were able to renovate the eye centre”.
“The pharmacy and the dispensary blocks have all undergone some renovation, courtesy our IGF”, Dr Abebrese added.
He gave a hint about efforts to expand the casualty ward and also demarcate a VIP section which would have an air-conditioned facility for very important personalities admitted to the hospital.
Dr Abebrese explained that in the past, both male and female patients were admitted to the same casualty ward but the situation would change with the completion of the expansion project.
Responding to a question on the present state of the human resource situation at the hospital, Dr Abebrese said it was a major challenge for the hospital.
He said the hospital had only four Ghanaian doctors and six Cubans, stressing that the human resource situation in all the other departments of the hospital was very discouraging.
“From midwives, through to laboratory technicians and nurses, the staff are either aging or we do not have them”, he complained, saying “it is a very serious problem”.
Dr Abebrese, however, stressed the need for individuals, particularly doctors who were natives of the region, corporate organisations and all those who would be touched by the conditions at the Wa hospital, to assist the hospital in their small way.