Health workers at the Saviour Community Clinic at Bonwire in the Ejisu Municipality of the Ashanti Region, are highly exposed to the COVID-19 due to shortage of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), Dailymailgh.com can report.
The workers say a diminished supply of vital equipment such as masks, gloves and aprons places an unnecessary level of danger on them and could endanger the lives of many at-risk clients.
Administrator of the facility, Paul Owusu Agyekum told Dailymailgh.com that workers have to buy their own PPE from wholesalers, which have been either out of stock or going for exorbitant prices.
He said: “It has become a very difficult situation for us; this clinic is the first point of call in times like this but we don’t have the equipment to work and that is problematic. As I speak if the unfortunate situation happens that a person with a suspect case comes in, it will be very difficult to attend to the person”.
“Initially the facility procured these equipment but that has taken a toll on our finances and because of that, all our staff including our COVID-19 team have to buy these equipment themselves”, the administrator explained.
Health officials at the Ejisu Municipal Health Directorate were unavailable to comment on the issue.
Current guidance from the Ghana Health Service says that gloves and aprons should be used by health staff to avoid a possible infection.
Concerns have, however, been raised about the shortage of these materials across the country though government said it has made strides to producing the materials locally.
The Ghana Medical Association, for instance, reiterated its concerns over the distribution of PPE to health facilities after the confirmation that 13 members of the group, who are medical doctors tested positive for the novel coronavirus.
The government, however, says it has enabled significant domestic production and supply of protective equipment to health workers.
President Nana Akufo-Addo recently noted that 905,031 nose masks, 31,630 medical scrubs, 31,472 gowns, 46,870 headcovers, and 83,500 N-95 face masks have been available.
The country’s Coronavirus case count stands at 1,550 with 11 deaths.
By Jonathan Ofori, Daily Mail GH | Email: joevica18@gmail.com
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