Ketu North Municipal Hospital, located in Weta, may be forced to withdraw health services delivery over an electricity power crisis that has hit the facility for over a month now.
The transformer that powers the huge facility has been damaged beyond repair after a lightning and thunderstorm hit it.
The hospital is currently off the national grid and has to rely on an electricity-generating plant that depends on expensive diesel fuelling.
Information available to us indicates that the facility managers are struggling to raise funds to fuel the generator thereby leaving the wards and the entire hospital in total darkness during the night on some days.
A visit by Asaase News to the facility revealed that the power crisis has put so much pressure on the fast-rising new health facility that they may be forced to withdraw certain critical services if government, sector ministries and responsible agencies do not support the urgent procurement of a new transformer.
Community folks and clients of the hospital who spoke with this reporter have expressed worry and fears over the crisis.
According to them, they are forced to spend so many hours at the hospital while some either leave for another hospital or spend nights in the dark to receive their treatment.
Within a week, the hospital spent over GHC10,000 on fuel just to power the generator available yet the fund generator from the hospital could not continuously afford the fuel.
The Ketu North municipal hospital serves over 8,000 residents from different Communities.
The facility serves many adjoining communities like, Dekpor, Agorvi, Ehie, Devego, Afife, Klenormadi, Tadzewu, and Dekpor Yia, among others.
About thirty-five traditional Areas depend on this hospital and the mortuary to preserve their dead bodies.
The management of the hospital has pleaded with some stakeholders and fortunately, the MP for the area James Klutse Avedzi donated GHC20,000.00 to aid the purchase of the fuel but that was not enough.
The hospital serves as a referral destination to numerous health facilities within Ketu North.
The community folks and clients of the hospital have pleaded with the government, Ministry of Health, Ghana Health Service, the Electricity Company of Ghana and other stakeholders to act fast to avert the facility from shutting down.
Reporting by Solomon Mensah-Ahiable in Oti Region
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