COVID 19: Western Region to salvage ventilators from ‘Ebola Isolation’ Center
Western Region Minister, Dr. Kwabena Okyere Darko Mensah says there will be a need to salvage ventilator machines that were used during the Ebola pandemic. According to him, some effort is being taken to retrofit ventilators that have been installed at an isolation center which was purposely built for the treatment of Ebola patients, at CDH, Takoradi.
As a region (Western Region), the only referral health Center; Effia Nkwanta Regional Hospital, is without a ventilator. Management of the facility, in this harrowing times, have initiated a fund raising campaign in partnership with Skyy Power FM, and supported by all media houses in the region, to procure ONE or more ventilator(s). Other major health centers in the region too, do not have a ventilator- most of which have prepared isolation and treatment centers should the region be hit with the disease.
But in his address to the press last Saturday ahead of today’s disinfection exercise, the Minister disclosed that they will make use of ventilators in the 17 ambulances for the region, when the need arises.
“In all the ambulances, there are ventilators, and that is our first line. And then you know that when Ebola started in the Western Region, we had a purpose-built isolation center at CDH, and they also have some ventilators in there. And we are trying to put the place back to full work” he stated.
He also added that government has initiated processes to procure some ventilator machines for health facilities in the country.
“Nationally, they’ve ordered for additional ventilators and we hope that those ventilators will come on board and we will get our fair share for our strategic locations in the region, so that when people need them because of the illness, we will be assured that they can also be taken care of” the Minister mentioned.
The Western Region has since the outbreak of the disease, recorded no positive case. The Health Directorate through its routine surveillance has as at yesterday (Sunday, 5 April, 2020), recorded 43 suspected cases, 31 of which came out negative after a laboratory test for COVID 19.
