Medical doctors at the Eastern Regional Hospital in Koforidua are alarmed over increasing death cases related to stroke, HIV, Pneumonia and heart related diseases in the region.
Other prominent causes of deaths in the area include; birth asphyxia, Septicemia , kidney issues and Hypertension .
These diseases have been identified as top ten most leading causes of deaths recorded at the region’s premier health facility in 2017 .
A total of Two-hundred and One( 201) patients died of Cerebrovascular Accident(Stroke) in 2017, an increase by 10% compared to 181 deaths recorded in 2016 which was also an increase from 163 recorded in 2015, Making Stroke the leading cause of deaths at the Hospital in the last three years.
The Medical Director at the Regional Hospital,Dr.Kwame Anim Boamah explained the reason to be failure by Persons with hypertension and diabetes to adhere strictly to medication and other management plans as directed by their doctors.
He also attributed the high stroke morbidity to ignorant of persons with such conditions.
HIV/AIDS which is the second cause of deaths at the hospital with increase of 3.6% killed 139 in 2017 compared to 134 , 167 deaths recorded in 2016 and 2015 respectively.
Pneumonia,also killed 73 patients at the facility in 2017, a reduction by three compared to 76 cases recorded in 2016 however,it is the third cause of deaths during the year under review.
The Medical Director said this during an open day cerebration observed annually to review performance of the Hospital and provide opportunity to the general public to interact with management on operations of the facility, Solicit their concerns and inputs in improving quality healthcare service .
Dr.Anim Boamah also revealed top ten admission causes at the facility in 2017 as Malaria which recorded 1,523 ,Anaemia,1053, Hypertension,981 ,Sepsis/ Septicaemia ,804,Pneumonia,963,Hernia,598,Gastratis ,478, diabetes mellitus,460, ,Stroke ,452, and 451 cases of Liver disease.
FEAT BY THE HOSPITAL
The hospital over the past four years has undergone a transformation through prudent financial management and has seen face-lift of its facilities and wards as well as roads and landscape executed mainly through its own internally generated funds.
These projects executed were the brain child of the hospital welfare committee under the leadership of Dr. Edward Frimpong Boateng.
The hospital through its Internally Generated Funds (IGF), installed an oxygen plant last year and currently does not only produce oxygen for use in the hospital but supplies oxygen to neighboring hospitals at a fee.Other modern biomedical equipment are being procured for installation to improve quality healthcare delivery.
Currently, the hospital has signed partnership agreements with a number of Educational institutions including Koforidua Technical University to offer tertiary and post – graduate program training in Laboratory Science Students and Nursing Students.
A Kangaroo Mother Care for Preterm babies , on site banking and other innovations of the hospital have attracted delegations from several other hospitals in the country to under study the system for replication.
Source: Ghana/StarrFMonline.com/Kojo Ansah
