Accra, June 12, GNA - Morgue equipment acquired for use at the psychiatric hospital in Accra six years ago continue wasting away in the sun and in the rain for lack of structure to put them into use.
Dr Akwasi Osei, Acting Chief Psychiatrist of the Ghana Health Service, told the GNA in an interview that he could not affirm with certainty the authenticity of the equipment after six years of delivery.
He said hospital engineers would be detailed to have the equipment examined.
Dr Osei said the hospital records at least 11 deaths every month but was no morgue but still depended on Korle-Bu for the mortuary needs.
“It is always traumatic for other inmates who were there when the person dies if the corpse is not removed early,” he said.
Dr Osei said management suspected that government had a second thought to transfer the equipment to some other hospital that urgently needed it though he personally disagreed with the idea.
He also attributed the problem of the idle equipment to government's intention to relocate the Accra Psychiatric Hospital which according to him was long overdue.
According to him, though psychiatric treatment did not require sophisticated equipment, the basic ones that they had such as oxygen cylinders, equipment for electric convulsion therapy and many others were all broken down.
“We do not have enough drugs to treat our patients and the medicines we have are so old. Sometimes patients are uncomfortable with them because of the side effects and are not prepared to use them,” he said.
He said there were new drugs on the market that are very effective in treating psychiatric patients but they are forced to use the old ones with its accompanying side effects.
Dr. Osei said government slashes the hospital's annual budget by 60 percent every year putting a lot of financial stress on the running the facility.
He said currently the hospital owed contractors and suppliers to the tune of three million Ghana cedis.
He said it was regrettable that mental health was not given the needed attention.
Dr. Osei called on the government as a matter of urgency to take immediate steps to solve the host of problems the hospital is facing.
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