Coronavirus: 37 Military Hospital cries for help

The 37 Military Hospital in Accra has decried the lack of personal protective equipment (PPEs) for its staff during the coronavirus pandemic.

The Commander of the hospital, Brigadier General Dr Nii Adjah Obodai, made the revelation when Tiger Force Group, a debt management company, donated some PPEs to support the hospital’s coronavirus fight.

“We’re running very low on our stores. We probably thought we’re going on a short haul, but here we are still at it. We’re running low on supplies.

“If I tell you that we have 2,900 personnel and everybody has to wear a face mask in the hospital, and I’m doing about 7,000 surgical masks a week, you can imagine what numbers I’m dealing with. Then I come to N95 for those who are actually treating the sick patients,” he said.

Tiger Force Group donates PPE, others to 37 Hospital

He called on individuals and organisations to come to the rescue of the hospital and donate some PPE to assist them better manage the situation.

Addressing journalists, Thursday, May 28, Brigadier-General Obodai said the coronavirus had adversely impacted the operations of the hospital.

He explained that the workforce at the hospital had significantly reduced since some staff had to be transferred to the treatment centre at El Wak.

“We’re dealing with different groups.  We’ve been tasked to open treatment centres, that takes out staff because like I said, those ones there at El Wak, we had to extract staff to go man it.

“The vacancies they left here are still open, and we’re still supposed to operate. So, the staff here is stretched… So we’re extracting staff, stretching staff to man these places. Then, of course, logistics. So we’re getting thinner and thinner,” he noted.

The hospital has set up two COVID-19 treatment centres – one at El Wak in Accra and the other in Takoradi in the Western Region.

PPE challenges 

There is a general challenge with PPEs for medical facilities across the country, as the government struggles to meet the increasing demand.

In April, the government commissioned four Ghanaian garment manufacturing companies in Accra to produce personal protective equipment (PPEs) as the government pursues an aggressive policy to meet the demand for protective gears for the health sector.

The government selected four garment companies–Dignity DTRT, Sleek Garments, Cadling Fashions Limited and Alfie Designs Limited to produce 3.6 million pieces of PPEs to fight the pandemic.

Among other things, the companies were required to produce nose masks, medical scrubs, hospital gowns and headgear using fabrics from ATL, Volta Star Textiles and GTP.

The four companies were tasked to deliver 3.6 million with an estimated daily output of 150,000.

They were to deliver the protective gears by mid-May.

It comes at a time PPEs supplies across the world are in peak demand with countries jealously guarding their stock.

Infected healthcare professionals 

While medical facilities cry for PPEs, health professionals are contracting the deadly disease.

At least 83 health workers across the country have been infected with coronavirus, with two reported deaths, including the renowned Rector of the Physicians and Surgeons College, Prof Jacob Plange-Rhule.

At least 83 health workers contract COVID-19 in Ghana

Healthcare professionals, especially doctors and nurses, in Greater Accra, Eastern, Central, Western, Ashanti and Upper East regions have contracted the deadly COVID-19.

Physicians and Surgeons College Rector dies from coronavirus

Greater Accra, Ashanti, Central and Western regions are the country’s hot spots for the disease, recording almost 7,000 cases.