Staff and unit heads at the Tamale Teaching Hospital have appealed to the parliamentary select committee on health to use their legislative powers to help equip the only referral hospital for the five regions of the north.
According to the staff, TTH lacks almost all major equipment such as standard CT scan, MRI machines, incubators at Neonatal Intensive care amongst others. The staff took turns to pour out their frustration before the parliamentary select committee on health during their working visit to the facility.
The committee with the staff opportunity was to uncertain challenges facing healthcare professionals in their quest to provide the needed care to patients. According to the staff, continued breakdown of equipment like CT scans, MRI machines, incubators and lack of mammography is inhabiting their effort.
The staff also appealed to the committee to ensure that there is a lasting solution to water and power problems. Unit heads from Paediatrics and child health, internal medicine, surgery, obstetrics and gynecology and physiotherapy recounted their daily frustrations before the committee and urged them to put their challenges before the sector minister.
Head of Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) revealed that almost 11 children died of kidney breaks because the unit could not provide needed services to serve the babies.
She appealed to the committee to help them get a new paediatric block. She suggested to the committee to help them charge some fee. A radiologist said the high cost of maternal mortality is attributed to lack of CT scan.
TTH, she said do not have a standard CT scan that befit it describing the CT scans as district hospital one. The unit heads narrating their experiences.
Director of pharmacy at TTH who spoke on behalf of management Dr Salifu Alhassan Tia told newsmen that TTH catchment area is big with inadequate staff. He encouraged staff to continue to give off their best while management takes steps to address challenges.
The hospital he said generates nine million Ghana cedis monthly, but the government spent over 15 million cedis a month for the salary of staff. He pleaded with the staff to work hard to generate enough revenue so that management can use it to motivate staff.
