Cabbie Attacked With Acid Discharged By Korle-Bu Hospital

AFTER 79 days in ‘captivity, at the Plastic Surgery and Burns Centre of the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, Isaac Acquaye Danquah, an armed robbery victim, yesterday regained his freedom. thanks to the generosity and compassion of Primex Ghana Ltd.

Primex Ghana, manufacturers of Jajo brand of food products, settled Isaac’s medical bills of GH¢1,016 (¢10,160,000) which his parents could not raise.

The company’s gesture was in response to an appeal the Ghanaian Times launched on his behalf at the instance of father, Matthew Agbenyega, a 67-year-old farmer of Kumikrom, near Asamakese.

Isaac, 25, is a taxi driver, who was attacked at Agona Swedru on April 11, this year by armed robbers who blinded him by splashing his face with acid.

He was consequently admitted at the Plastic Surgery and Burns Centre of the hospital on April 16 with burns on the face and neck and loss of vision in both eyes.

He underwent plastic surgery on May 2 and June 8 and was discharged on June 12 but there was no money to settle the bill, hence his detention at the hospital until Monday, August 20, when the Ghanaian Times on behalf of Primex Ghana, went to settle the bill.

But his release delayed until yesterday due to some technicalities.

Making payment, the Acting Group Editorial Manager, Eddie Avornu, commended the hospital staff for that performance under very trying moments.

While noting that the practice of detaining patients for non-payment of their bills was not the best option, he stressed the need for the citizenry to register with the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) to avoid such embarrassing situations.

He said the Times and its sister papers, would in their small way, through their columns, educate the people on the advantages of embracing and registering with the scheme.

Grace Anyomi, a Senior Nursing Officer, accepted the payment and thanked Primex Ghana and the Times for making the patient’s discharge possible.

She said there are similar cases of patients inability to pay their medical bills resulting, unfortunately, in their detention at the hospital.

Ms Anyomi appealed to philanthropists corporate bodies and the churches to demonstrate their love by going to the aid of such patients.

Matthew Agbenyega, father of Isaac, thanked the donor company and the Times for ensuring his son’s release.

Saying that Isaac is the breadwinner for the family, he wondered how the family would manage with his present predicament.

Isaac thanked his benefactors for their gesture and the Times for launching the appeal on his behalf.

He was happy that he would be leaving the hospital for home albeit without his vision.

He said with his present condition, his five-year-old daughter has had to stop school and his wife also stopped her apprenticeship as a seamstress.