Some key departments of the Kokrobite Health Centre in the Ngleshie Amanfrom Constituency in the Greater Accra Region are currently operating under trees.
Currently, four departments operating at the facility are housed under a tree, a situation health worker says dumped their spirit and beats the United Nations sustainable development goal three of good health and well-being for every Ghanaian.
The department of Reproductive and Child Health (RCH), Decease Control unit, the Psychiatric department and the Internal Audit unit are currently operating under tress because there are no offices to house them.
Speaking to the Republic Newspaper, a Senior Physician Assistant (Medical) and Head of Facility at the Kokrobete Health Centre, Mr Jerry Nunoo said the facility is in dire need of a face lift in order to continue to provide the universal good health for the 11 adjoining communities in the area.
Mr Nunoo said one of the challenges facing the health centre serving over 50,000 people in the area is that there is no standby generator to power electricity for the facility to operate when there is light out.
“Now what it means is that anytime the lights go out, operations of the facility is automatically halted unless the lights comes back,” he stated.
“There are situations where we have to use lamps, torchlights and phone lights to administer healthcare. When the lights go out the facility cannot perform certain activities such as taking the Haptoglobin (HP) test and the Blood groupings which requires the use of light.”
He said not that management of the facility are looking unconcern about the situation, “we try solving some of the problems in our own way by expanding the laboratory and creating an office for an eye clinic.”
Mr Nunoo said the facility tried using internally generated fund (IGF) to purchase a solar generator but it was around GH¢ 50,000.00 to GH¢100,000.00 way above the strength of the facility and therefore called on the general public to support the facility with a standby generator.
“We again tried a 10KV generator which was also around GH¢30.000.00 but the problem was that the facility had used it IGF to buy beds and other items to stuff the Oshiyie Health Centre which was built by the former Member of Parliament and the then Deputy Minister of Health, Mrs Tina Mensah.”
He said on monthly basis, the facility can record between 1000 and 1200 visits with most common deceases such as abdominal pains, typhoid fever, peptic ulcer, malaria, skin deceases, injuries, maternal and antenatal and many others.
Mr Nunoo revealed that currently none of the staff is resident in the facility because the three bed room apartments which was build attached to the facility as nurses quarters is not in good use because the facility leaks profusely, some of the roof is ripped off and the floor is also not in good shape.
The frustrated health practitioner said the facility needs a facelift, there should be a landscaping, the devilry bed is old fashion and needs a change and there should be conscious effort to expand the maternity ward.
Some of the health workers who spoke on condition of anonymity said they have been operating under the trees for the past two to four years and all report to mid-year review and yearly reports about the poor nature of the facility have yielded no result.
One of the nurses said when it rains some part of the building leak and the tiles at the main entrance to centre are broken exposing patience and workers into danger.
