Korle-Bu lacks beds as critically ill patients wait to die

Two surgeons at Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital have lamented the piling cases of critically ill patients who need surgeries but have no beds to use for recovery.

The doctors who want to remain anonymous, told the theghanareport.com they are unable to proceed with surgery for Genevieve Owusu, a 15-year-old girl who suffers from a brain tumor, and needed urgent surgery.

Theghanareport.com which brought the plight of the teen to media attention has received magnanimous support of philanthropists who have raised 25,000 cedis needed for her surgery.

But since June 29 when the full monies were raised, there has been no progress on her surgery.

The first doctor, some three weeks ago when Genevieve Owusu was due for surgery, on 23rd July, said there were no recovery beds at the surgical unit where she is to be operated upon.

Only four recovery beds were available at the intensive care unit, which could not be used for patients from the surgical unit, he explained.

“There are no recovery beds in the surgical unit, the whole hospital there are only 4 recovery beds and they are all at the intensive care unit,”

“Recovery beds are a special type of beds designed for hospital patients who undergo surgery, they are put on these beds from the theatre, nursed until they regain consciousness before transferred to the ward,” an insider source told theghanareport.com.

Ahead of Friday’s appointment with the doctors, the specialist again complained about a lack of beds.

“A patient will spend not less than two weeks on a recovery bed after surgery,” the doctor said.

Doctors are finding it hard to carry out surgeries as recovery beds are hard to come by for the patients.

 

In effect, patients who have paid for surgeries are in a queue going nowhere.

“See all these people (referring to patients in a queue)they are here for a surgery date, so the fact that you’ve paid the bill is not a guarantee for a surgery,” a doctor told Theghanareport.com’s reporter Aba Asamoah after she paid a visit to the surgical unit of the hospital as a follow up on Genevieve Owusu.  

There is no substantive date for her surgery. Genevieve’s surgery date has been rescheduled twice and now indefinitely.

So was the fate of many others.

Another reason for the stop in surgeries was the lack of anesthetists.

According to theghanareport.com’s source, a lot of anesthetist at the hospital had been infected with coronavirus.

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“The coronavirus too has infected a lot of our colleagues here; you remember the hospital issued a statement that it was only going to work on emergency cases.”

“Yes, so even though these people need to be operated on, there are external factors preventing that”

“At least five people and some others are on admission in the ward who need urgent surgeries but no doctor will enter the theatre if there is no anesthetist to prepare the patient or a recovery bed available,” the worried source said.

A devastated mother, Comfort Asare, who couldn’t hide her fears of losing her 12-year-old son, Yaw, spoke to theghanareport.com.

“My son is blind because of the tumor, at 12-years he can’t do anything on his own” she cried.

You may also read:https://www.theghanareport.com/update-on-partially-blind-girl-with-brain-tumor/

” We were here earlier for the stunt implantation and that was when he was diagnosed with blindness”

“So we are begging them to do the surgery because this is the second time we are coming here” she pleaded.

Another parent, Selorm, joined Comfort.

“This is my first time of coming for a date even though we were here a month ago for the stunt implant…. but they have asked me to wait, so we are waiting,” he said.

Almost all the patients in queue for a surgery date suffered from one form of a cancerous tumor or the other.

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Authorities at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital have not responded to repeated requests for an interview.