Ghana health center without toilets and with a broken delivery bed — MyJoyOnline
The Lonto Community Health Centre in Ghana’s Northern Region operates without toilets, an ambulance or separate wards for patients. The facility has only one broken delivery bed, MyJoyOnline reports.
Nurse Magdalene Demyoma, who has worked at the center for more than a year, said that patients and staff are forced to relieve themselves in bushes around the clinic. According to her, this situation may increase the risk of diarrhea, cholera and other similar diseases.
Problems with emergency care
According to Demyoma, the health center has no ambulance to transport emergency patients. If a case exceeds the facility’s capabilities, relatives take patients by tricycle to the Kpandai district hospital or to Tamale.
The nurse also reported delays in medicine supplies. Due to shortages of some drugs, patients sometimes have to buy them themselves, particularly when medication must be administered urgently after a patient arrives.
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Wards and staff
The center has no separate wards for men, women and children, so patients are accommodated together. The situation is particularly difficult for pregnant women: the delivery room has one bed, part of which is damaged. Demyoma recalled a case when two women in labor arrived at the facility at the same time, but one of them gave birth about 30 minutes after the other.
According to the nurse, five nurses work at the facility. The staff also have only one cabinet for books and documents, so they keep some papers in boxes on the floor. Residents who spoke to the outlet anonymously complained about the lack of bed linen on some beds and long waits for medical workers.
Demyoma appealed to the authorities and other responsible bodies to provide the health center with basic infrastructure and equipment. She also noted that a significant number of her patients are pregnant teenagers.
