A Mining company, Newmont Ghana, has donated some critical medical equipment worth over GH¢2 million to the Intensive Care and the Paediatric Oncology units of the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, to enhance quality healthcare and patient safety.
The items included two ventilators, two invasive patient monitors, two non-invasive patient monitors, two blood gas analyser machines and 10 patient monitors.
The gesture also formed part of Newmont’s longstanding partnership with the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital and its responsibility to support health care in the country.
Request
The Country Manager of Newmont Ghana, Danquah Addo-Yobo, said the donation was in response to requests received from both the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and the Paediatric Oncology Unit of the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital.
He explained that the requests, which were followed up extensively, helped the company to better understand the hospital’s needs and the potential impact of the equipment on patient care.
Mr Addo-Yobo said the total value of the equipment was about GH¢2 million but the significance of the donation went beyond its monetary worth.
“The bigger value is not the money and not the equipment, but lives.
This support can help save lives and improve patient outcomes in the intensive care units and for children undergoing cancer treatment,” he said.
Gratitude
The Chief Executive Officer of the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, Dr Yakubu Seidu Adam, expressed gratitude to Newmont Ghana for the donation, as it was a timely support for the hospital’s critical care services.
He said the ventilators and monitors would enhance patient care at the ICU, while the equipment provided to the Paediatric Oncology Unit would support the management of childhood cancer cases.
Challenges
Dr Adam said although the hospital had strong human resource capacity, challenges remained with infrastructure and overstretched equipment due to the increasing number of patients referred from across the country.
He said management had, therefore, reached out to corporate institutions and individuals to complement the government’s efforts in sustaining quality health care at the facility.
“We cannot leave everything to the government alone, which is why we continue to appeal to corporate Ghana to support the health sector,” he said.
Appeal
The Head of Anaesthesia and Intensive Care at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, Dr Andrew Kwabena-Adade, said the donation followed an appeal made to Newmont to support the replacement of ageing critical care equipment at the facility.
He explained that the hospital had about 24 theatres and that most of the equipment currently in use had exceeded its lifespan, having last undergone major retooling between 2012 and 2013.
Dr Kwabena-Adade said although the government supplied eight anaesthesia machines to the hospital last year and distributed them across the theatres, the need for additional equipment, particularly for intensive care services, remained.
“The ICU equipment also needs replacement, and when we appealed to Newmont, they responded,” he said.
He further said the availability of modern equipment would help reduce the need to refer patients abroad for specialised surgical procedures, as the hospital had the human capacity to deliver such services locally.
Source:
www.graphic.com.gh
