Nurses at the Ahenema Kokoben Health Centre in the Atwima Kwanwoma district of the Ashanti Region are forced to use mobile phones torchlight to deliver pregnant women due to lack of a standby generator.
According to the health officials, they always have to rely on the light of their mobile phones to administer healthcare to patients anytime they are hit by a power cut in the night.
The midwife-in-charge of the maternity ward, Nana Adutwumwaa, said the situation is affecting quality healthcare delivery at the facility.
“Our main problem here is our lighting system. In case there is light out, you have to use your phone light for delivery, which is very bad and unacceptable in the profession”.
Nana Adutwumwaa added “We don’t do delivery in darkness, in case there is a problem with the patient, you would not know. There should be adequate lighting before you attend to a patient; it is a headache we are going through as a midwife”.
She, however, appealed to the government, NGOs, and individuals to come to the aid of the health center.
Mr. George Kwadwo Aboagye the Facility Head and the Physician Assistant at the Centre also pleaded with the Member of Parliament and the DCE to provide them with security when they are at work during the night.
According to him, some community members during night sessions come to the health center as patients but with the idea to harass nurses on duty and even sometimes steal from them, which has created fear and panic in their way of service delivery.
He continued that Ahenema Kokoben health center is the only government health facility from Trade aside from the Okomfo Anokye Teaching hospital which needs to be expanded.
He noted that the health center needs an expansion on facilities for some special cases like the eye, ear, E&T, and A.R.T which are been treated at the health center but no rooms for patients to occupy.
Source: Mybrytnewsroom/Kwabena Nyarko Abronoma
