Connaught Hospital Restoring Hope to Citizens‼️‼️
The need for NEW HOSPITALS in Greater Freetown.
Connaught Hospital Restoring Hope to Citizens‼️‼️
...But Change of Attitude Among Health Workers Remain Paramount‼️‼️
Shortly after Platinum Media reported the issue of doctors abandoning patients at the country's main referral hospital Connaught, the Deputy Minister of Health and Sanitation, Madina Rahman has visited the hospital to verify and engage its management apparently on issues of improving customer service as well curtail other practices inimical to healthcare delivery in the country.
Many observers including patients have described the visit of the Deputy Minister as very timely. Since we our report, there has been marked improvement in customer service as doctors are now turning up for their patients.
"I now have up to three or more doctors ( specialists) coming to see me on a daily basis...) remarked 39 year old Alimamy Sesay in the Surgical Ward.
Following a strict warning from the hospital management and top health authorities, we learnt that the practice of selling drugs to patients at exorbitant prices has dramatically reduced. Previously, we discovered that some nurses would prevent patients or their relatives from buying drugs at cost recovery rates from the hospital pharmacy. "When I arrived here two weeks ago, one the nurses said I should buy drugs from her for my sick husband.....now that I am buying from the hospital pharmacy, the prices for the same drugs are far lower..." remarked Agnes Sesay who brought in her 48 year old husband from Kambia.
The Minister made an extensive tour of the hospital facilities and to our amazement, the sanitary conditions have also improved greatly. The Children's Ward like many other wards are no longer over-crowded and except for the bits and pieces of medical waste at the back of the hospital, the general cleanliness of the hospital was a far cry from what obtained previously.
We left Connaught hospital with the optimal assurance that the hospital has the capacity to significantly address the healthcare needs of citizens. We are however calling on government to continuously engage the hospital's management and staff by constantly reminding them of their responsibilit to save lives.
In the absence of this, we believe the situation will retrogress and when this happens, we can only conclude that positive picture we saw during the Minister's visit was the usual staged acts to impress visiting dignitaries.
As we commend the Minister for her proactive moves on Connaught Hospital, we will continue to monitor the situation at the Hospital and indeed other healthcare facilities around the country.
Stay Tuned‼️
© Platinum Media
( The Athentic Voice)
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