WORAWORA HOSPITAL IN DISTRESS (PAGE 40)

THE Worawora Hospital in the Jasikan District in the Volta Region is in distress.
The roofs of the various sections of the facility, especially the theatre, X-ray department, the pharmacy and the stores, are leaking.
Since the hospital was built more than 50 years ago to serve the rural communities, it has not seen any major renovation.
During a fact-finding tour, this writer realised to his dismay the deplorable nature of the facility, with the walkway having been completely ripped off.
The sole doctor in charge of the facility and the entire staff work under very trying conditions, such as inadequate delivery tools.
According to the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS), about 53 per cent of Ghanaians take about 30 minutes or less to reach the nearest health facility.
However, rural communities are worse off in terms of access to health care. About only three per cent of rural households live in communities where there are doctors.
It is for this reason that the people of Worawora and its environs are appealing to the government to come to the aid of the hospital by taking over the payment of the salaries of some of the staff who are currently being paid from the internally generated fund (IGF) of the facility.
The sole doctor of the hospital, Dr Felix Doe, told the Daily Graphic that the facility, which is a major referral point in the northern part of the Volta Region, did not have any vehicle for emergencies.
He stated that repair work on the building was far beyond the capability of the IGF.
Dr Doe said the hospital had so far spent more than GH¢31,700 on the rehabilitation of the senior staff bungalows, the junior staff quarters, beautification programmes and refurbishing of the laundry department.
He said more than GH¢2,100 was spent each month to pay casual labourers, a situation that is a serious drain on the IGF.
According to the doctor, the hospital did not have an emergency block, so the management of the facility were trying to renovate a structure to serve that purpose but they were at their wits’ end since no help was coming from anywhere.
He said the worse of it all is the large number of accident victims brought to the hospital due to the regular motor accidents occurring on the Kpando-Dambai highway, which passes through the town.
Dr Doe, therefore, appealed to well-to-do individuals and benevolent organisations to come to the aid of the hospital by providing it with some its needs.