Navrongo Hospital Dying

The entrance of the hosipal
Healthcare delivery at the War Government Hospital in Navrongo in the Kasena-Nankana District of the Upper East Region is gradually grinding to a halt as basic necessities to run the place have run short.

The facility is currently at the verge of collapsing unless frantic efforts are taken by management and traditional authorities to reverse current happenings.

Painstaking investigations conducted by DAILY GUIDE uncovered that the hospital lacks basic logistics, including oxygen, disposable gloves, soap, bleach, disinfectants and simple drugs like paracetamol to care for patients.

The only laboratory at the facility at its current state can also best be described as a white elephant as biomedical scientists are unable to conduct simple tests on specimens of patients.

It was uncovered that the laboratory lacks reagents and other specimen collection logistics to make it functional enough for the purpose for which it was established.

Patients seeking to use the services of the laboratory are compelled by the situation to rely on B.D.S Lab Bio Analytic Diagnostic Services, a private laboratory within the central business district for results of tests of specimen.

No Drugs
Subscribers of the National Health Insurance Scheme resort to buying drugs that hitherto were covered by the scheme at private pharmacies shops since the hospital's pharmacy is also empty.

The  situation has been decried by beneficiaries who claim it is reaping them off their resources, and they are wondering why management of the facility which is supposed to be the major referral hospital within the western part of the Upper East Region have allowed things to go out of hand.

The paper also uncovered that there is no oxygen in the many cylinders at the hospital and medical personnel solely rely on oxygen concentrators which become impossible to use during power outages.

This also happens in the wake of repetitive power outages, with the inability of management to fuel a newly acquired power plant; yet are able to fuel their three 4WD vehicles for private usage at the expense of the ailing facility's resources.

Meanwhile, emergency staff like anesthesiologists are denied fuel to respond to calls at no occupational hours under the guise that the facility is constraint financially and management is unable to shoulder such responsibility.

Waste
In the wake of the financial crises, the paper uncovered that management has sunk huge resources into refurbishing the office of the Medical Director, Dr Freeman Samane, with new office furniture replacing the existing ones believed to be less than a year old.

Three new double deck fridges were also procured from resources of the facility for the private use of the medical officer, administrator one for the accountant and have since not been labelled in the name of the facility, raising concerns.

Some nurses who spoke to the paper on grounds of anonymity expressed worry at certain decisions taken by management regarding the facility, disclosing that management members were entitled to free lunch from hospital kitchen, denying other staff whose workload and duration is heavier.

According to them, the wards are mainly managed by nurses and medical assistants, with selective interests in maternal issues throwing the general ethics of the practice to the dogs.

Pascal Dongzuing, the administrator of the hospital, who admitted to the challenges of the hospital, blamed the regional medical stores for the non-availability of basic drugs to improve healthcare delivery.

According to him, the regional medical store was the facility's only source of supply, stating that it was against the law for facilities to procure drugs directly from the open market.

He however stated that in event, the regional medical stores is unable to supply some specific drugs or consumable on requisition, they would be required to give the subscriber non-availability certificate in order to purchase them from elsewhere.

But in such a situation, he explained that the facility would have to go through the procurement process in order to meet the demands of the facility, observing that it is cumbersome.

The administrator disclosed that in such cases, the facility becomes constraint with drugs and other consumables in serving clients.

He also disclosed that he was not in the position to confirm or deny if the facility lacked oxygen but dispelled the accusation the plant at the facility could not be powered in view of management's inability to buy fuel.

The automatic change-over and the battery of the standby plant,  he told DAILY GUIDE, developed fault some time past but both faults have since been rectified and each time there was power outage, the facility relied on it.

He also admitted the facility was in distress with regards to finances but indicated that the NHIS paid its claims for the past months which could make the facility heave a sigh of relief.

The administrator, however, said the amount would be woefully adequate in catering for the growing debts of the facility which is finding it difficult to procure basic drugs.

Mr Dongzuing said he was not directly involved in the refurbishing of the medical director's office, disclosing that it was done before his arrival.

The hospital's kitchen, he explained, was available for all staff depending on their schedules but was quick to add that each meal served was worth GH¢5.

The management members on special days, he added, are exempted from paying the prescribed fee.

He told this reporter the three fridges though designated for homes of the three senior officials would be labelled in the name of the facility for identification.

From Stephen Zoure, Navrongo