NGO donates items for diabetic patients to hospital

Saltpond (C/R), Aug 21, GNA - The President of the Saltpond Branch of the Village Outreach Network, a non-governmental organisation (NGO), Madam Victoria A Hanson, has donated materials worth about 3,000 dollars to the Saltpond Government Hospital.

The items meant to enhance the treatment of diabetes, included two sphygmomanometers, five glucometers, eight boxes of alcohol swabs, five boxes of electro cardiogram ECG contact cream, 20 pieces of ECG reading papers, 17 boxes of DM test strips, seven boxes of Lancet and one piece of Lancing device. Mr Ato Olise-Aikins, President of the United States of America Branch of the organisation, brought the items into the country. Mr Olise-Aikins, who is also a student nurse, said the organisation's concern for diabetic patients stemmed from the fact that he himself had been diagnosed as having the disease.

He said very often testing for the sugar level in the blood stream of a diabetic was associated with problems and added that the disease could be well managed if the patient knew the level of sugar in his system. Mr Olise-Aikins said his organisation had earlier donated an ECG to the hospital.

He commended Dr Susan Erlenborne of Oakpark, Illinois in the USA, through whose efforts the materials were acquired. Ms Margaret Minnah, Deputy Director, Nursing Service, who received the items, thanked the donors for their gesture. Dr Abraham Martey, Medical Superintendent of the Hospital, appealed to organisations, donor agencies and individuals to help improve conditions at the hospital, constructed in 1920. He said the hospital had no good ambulance while the facilities at the laundry had broken down.

The Medical Superintendent stated that accessing laundry services at Cape Coast was too expensive and had plunged the hospital into heavy debts. Mr J B Abaidoo-Abbam, Hospital Administrator, appealed to individuals and organisations to emulate the example of the donors to go to the assistance of the hospital to enable it to offer quality services.