Presby Church sets up Eye Clinic in Bolga
CONTRARY TO fears expressed by some staff of the Ghana Health Service (GHS) in Bolgatanga, that with the establishment of the Bawku Eye Clinic Annex in Bolgatanga, their links with the regional hospital could cut off, the General Manager of Northern Presbyterian Health Services has given the assurance that his outfit was not in competition with the GHS.
Giving the assurance at the dedication ceremony of the Bawku Eye Clinic Annex in Bolgatanga, Mr. John A. Abugri explained that the idea of establishing the Annex was to offer an alternative to the main theatre at Bawku, because of the recent experiences the authorities encountered during the Bawku crisis.
“So the rumours going round to the effect that the eye team will stop operating in the regional hospital, should be dismissed in no uncertain terms. We will continue to respond to invitations by hospitals and other facilities, to carry out surgeries in their own premises,” the GM stated.
Mr. Abugri said the dedication of the facility was indicative of the Presbyterian Church's policy and practice to bring health service to the doorsteps of the people.
This, the church had demonstrated in the past, and would continue to do into the future.
According to him, the church's association with healthcare delivery in the northern parts of Ghana dates back to the 1950s, when the Bawku Hospital was established by the government of Ghana, and handed over to the Basel Mission, now Presbyterian Church of Ghana, in 1956 to manage on an agency basis.
Mr. Abugri said the eye project, supported by Chistofel Blinden Mission (CBM) in Germany, started as a clinic in the Bawku Hospital in 1975, and immediately introduced mobile eye care services to many rural communities in and around Bawku.
These services were later extended to the rest of the region, and even beyond the borders of Ghana.
Starting from a modest screening exercise for the onchocerciasis disease in affected communities, the eye project was subsequently integrated into selected health facilities, where eye surgeries and other services were carried out.
He revealed that available statistics indicated that yearly the Bawku Eye Clinic and its outreach activities recorded 30,000 clients, with more than 10% of them undergoing surgery.
Between 2006 and 2008, a total of 63,770 eye Out Patient Department (OPD) attendance was recorded, while 7,325 people had various eye surgeries, with the majority of them being cataract. Out of these, 60% were treated outside the Bawku Hospital.
This scenario, therefore, justified the need for establishing an annex at Bolgatanga, where services in general and surgeries in particular, would be brought closer to the people.
The General Manager hinted that if the new facility was maximally used, a similar one would be established at Garu in the not-too-distant future, to cater for clients in the eastern corner of the region, and some parts of the Northern Region.
He mentioned inadequate number of critical staff such as doctors and nurses, as the biggest challenge confronting the hospital, expressing fears that the nurses' situation could be worsened due to aging.
According Mr. Abugri, funding was also another challenge facing the Eye Project, since CBM's financial support had stopped, except for logistical support. The project was now mainly depending on its internally-generated income.
There was also the issue of non-timely reimbursement by the insurance schemes, especially the Bolgatanga scheme.
While appealing to the Regional Health Director to use his good offices to influence the Ministry of Health for direct support for the eye project, since the eye service was a regional facility and not only that of the Presbyterian Church, he also appealed to the authorities of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) to intervene to guarantee the people continuous eye care in the municipality.
Dr. Hornametor Afake, Ophthalmologist in charge of the Eye Clinic, mentioned the growing need for both clinical/surgical services in the Bolgatanga municipality and its environs, lack of clinical services facility for the Bolgatanga mobile unit extension of the clinic, and recurrent disruption of service provision at the main facility in Bawku, as the main reasons for the establishment of the annex at Bolgatanga.
The Clinic has 2,000 cataract operations per year, and consultations an average of 24,000 per year, with the Eye Project operating in seven districts of the Upper East Region, two districts in the Northern Region (Walewale and Gambaga), and some parts of Burkina Faso and Togo.
With an operating theater, OPD, consulting room and guest rooms, the Bolgatanga annex would handle eye surgeries on Tuesdays and Thursdays, while rendering other related services daily. A minimum of 25, and maximum of 30 patients, could be attended to on a daily basis.
The theatre equipment/instruments were donated by the Rotary Club and Chistofel Blinden Mission.
Dr. John Koku Awoonor-Williams, Regional Health Director, commended the PHS for playing complementary role in healthcare delivery in the region, and gave the assurance that the GHS would support PHS in all its endeavours.
He urged the PHS to extend its services to the deprived areas of the region, where there were more serious health problems which needed immediate attention.
Dr. Awoonor-Williams bemoaned the spate of motorbike accidents in the region, which had led the death of four members of staff of the regional hospital.
He called for public education on the use of motorbikes, and their repercussions when carelessly used.
Dedicating the facility, Rev. Dr. Martin Bugri, Chairman of the Northern Presbytery, said the focus of the church was to fight against the devil, poverty and diseases, and that the government should see the church as a partner in development.