Eastern Regional Hospital makes tremendous improvements in health infrastructure

The Eastern Regional Hospital recorded substantial infrastructural expansion over the last two years, leading to a more efficient and effective health service delivery in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The hospital improved the care of severe to critically ill COVID-19 patients with facilities like piped medical oxygen delivery to patient beds, oxygen generation machine, and closed-circuit television (CCTV) for patient monitoring.

It also introduced virtual aid conferencing equipment, High Dependency Unit (HDU) beds with patient monitors, ventilators and a host of others in line with modern health delivery systems.

Dr Arko Akoto-Ampaw, Medical Director of the Eastern Regional Hospital, who said this at the 2021 Annual Performance Review meeting in Koforidua, commended philanthropic organisations, individuals and staff for contributing to the feat.

With their collaborative support, he said, the Hospital has now been recognised as a national centre of excellence for the management of severe to critically ill patients of COVID-19.

In 2020 the hospital was also adjudged the most outstanding Regional Hospital in Ghana for the elimination of Mother-to-child transmission of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV).

Mr Akoto-Ampaw applauded Kokrokroo Foundation, KABAKA Foundation, Susuana Missionaries (UK), Mr Seth Acheampong, Eastern Regional Minister and Ghana Health Service among others for their tremendous assistance.

Giving statistics on hospital utilisation, he said the Out-Patients-Department (OPD) attendance rose by 13.8 per cent, making up for the fall of 12 per cent in 2020 which recorded 232,485 attendants while 2021 had 264,640 attendants.

The top OPD cases listed were anaemia, rheumatism, joint pains, upper respiratory tract infection, hypertension and diabetes.

Addressing issues on admission, Mr Akoto-Ampaw management noted that there was an increase in cancers, kidney diseases and other diseases of lifestyle in 2021.

On COVID, he said the hospital in 2021 recorded a total of 3,408 suspected cases with 1,109 confirmed and 91 deaths.

On reproductive health, the hospital recorded 5, 157 deliveries in 2020, lower than in 2021 which had 5,263 deliveries, with the caesarean sections being 2,211 in 2020 and 2,300 in 2021. There were no reasons adduced for the increase.

The hospital’s antenatal care attendants also climbed to 17,457 in 2021 from 10,691 in 2020.

Dr Akoto-Ampaw said the hospital received support for premature babies from the KABAKA Foundation which renovated and expanded the existing Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) capacity and also cut the sod for construction of additional NICU complex, while the Kokrokroo Foundation and the Eastern Regional Minister donated two incubators.

He appealed to the government, benevolent organisations and individuals to assist the hospital have Computer Tomography (CT) scan.