Apam Catholic Hospital

Apam Catholic Hospital has in the past years been embarking on facility improvement projects to enhance access to its services and facilitate excellent quality of care. The following are examples of the development projects which have taken place since 2005.

 

Accident and Emergency Centre

Mrs Bakker is greeted by a local child on

a recent visit to Ghana

Constructional works on the new Accident and Emergency Centre began in earnest this year with funding provided by a Dutch couple - Mr & Mrs Bakker from The Netherlands. The need for such a facility touched the heart of Mrs Charlotte Bakker, a Dutch volunteer nurse who was on attachment at the hospital on Tropical Nursing Experience for six months from August to December 2006.

Work is currently ongoing at the super-structure and the lintel level is estimated to be 65-70% complete. It is hoped that the early completion of the project would ease congestion on the ward in times of road traffic accidents as well as providing space for patients to be seen promptly, even after regular OPD hours. This will therefore improve the quality of care available to our patients.

The facilities within the new centre will include:

• An Operating Room
• Pharmacy
• Laboratory
• Records Department
• Conference Room
• Library
• Offices
• Male and Female Wards
  

Theatre Extension

 

Thanks to Cordaid, our main sponsor, the extension to the surgical theatre was completed in August 2006 with the addition of

• two operating rooms,
• a washing area,
• separate changing rooms with toilet facilities
• a recovery room and
• a complete sterilization room to serve the whole hospital. 

The extension has improved the access to optimal general surgical care for all in the Gomoa District and beyond. It has also increased access to specialized surgery, improved the aseptic operating environment and provided a fully centralized sterilization unit for the whole hospital. This will lead to a decrease in post operative wound infection rates and an overall improvement of the quality of care delivered to patients undergoing surgery.

This completion of the extension in time for the visit of the US Medical Missionary Team in September 2006 was of great benefit to the hospital, as it facilitated the performance of 106 surgeries during their six day stay. The same team from York, Pennsylvania, returned in September of this year, performing 156 surgeries over the course of eight days. None of this would have been possible without the invaluable support of CORDAID, an international NGO in The Netherlands.

Provision of Ambulance

The hospital in December 2006 took delivery of a new Peugeot vehicle from the Ghana Health Service under the Ambulance Service Package for district hospitals to facilitate efficient referral system among health facilities. The Regional Director of Health Services and the Central-Regional Minister duly presented the keys of the vehicle to the management of the hospital.

Similarly, a new V.W Transporter Ambulance vehicle was donated in March 2007 by the citizens of Apam under the name Apaa Korye Kuw in Italy after a short ceremony at the hospital which was attended by the chief, Nana Effirim IX, and his elders. The presentation was made by Mr. Bondzie, a citizen of Apam currently residing in Italy, who was on a short holiday in Ghana.

 

 Problem statement

 

Even though the hospital is making progress in a number development projects, it is still deficient in certain equipments, logistics as well as infrastructure required to deliver efficient quality health care.  This is primarily due to the high level of poverty among community members which results in high unpaid bills. This makes it difficult for the institution to mobilize the resources to undertake the needed projects to further the development of Apam Hospital. 

 

Among the urgent priorities of the hospital are:

 

1. Accident and Emergency Room

 

• The present emergency room can contain only two beds, one for infants and one for adults and even at this small capacity it is very cramped inside. It also serves the purpose of an injection room thus compounding the existing problem of the area.

 

• The hospital lies within an accident prone area thus making it a referral point for a lot of road traffic accidents in the community and beyond and the victims have to be catered for on the wards which are already congested and this does not allow for proper nursing management.

2. Water Purifier

 

• The community over the years is prone to diarrhea diseases and typhoid. Access to portable and clean water is very difficult hence people are left with no other option than to result to stagnant waters within catchment areas without any purification. The need therefore for an installation of a water purifier in the facility to ensure patient safety cannot be over-emphasised as it will also help supply portable water to the community at large to reduce the incidence of such cases.

    3. Staff Accommodation
   

• Staff accommodation is still a problem within the facility which makes it difficult to attract skilled personnel willing to stay. Such Accommodation is needed to combat the situation whereby landlords can charge exorbitant rates in a poor community like Apam.

In conclusion, the management of the hospital is hopeful that, these requests will meet your favourable response and attentions to assist us achieve the overall objectives of the Catholic Health Services and Ghana in general.

 

If you would like to make a donation please contact Francis Yawson at the email address  yawsonfrancis@yahoo.co.uk

or Tel: 00 233 4121549

Any support would be greatly appreciated.