Management of West Gonja Hospital threatened by Families who have lost their wards to COVID-19
The Medical Superintendent of the Hospital says residents do not believe in the reality of the deadly pandemic and sees the death as a make up to extort money from them.
Joana Somiah 
The Medical Superintendent of the West Gonja Hospital in Damongo, Dr Vitalis Saadaare has expressed worry over the negative attitudes of families of patients who of Covid-19 cases at the facility.
He narrated that some family members of a patient who was on admission and died of COVID-19 broke down the gate to the hospital’s morgue, attacked the security guard and forcefully demanded the body of the deceased for burial but the family was earlier informed about the patient’s death.
Dr Vitalis said in that struggle the hospital management had to call the police command to rescue the situation.
He lamented by saying “this attitude with the situation is dangerous for our health because people still believe that Covid-19 is not real.
"So anytime one is confirmed dead of Covid-19, many family members don’t still believe."
"Some people have accused the management of the hospital of intentionally declaring people Covid-19 positive to get more money from the government,” he added.
Dr Vitalis Saadaare refuted the allegations and said since the outbreak of the Covid-19, the hospital staff have not received any pesewas from the Central government hence the unhappiness of the hospital staff because, since March 2020, the Health Ministry is yet to pay any Covid-19 allowances to health personnel at the facility.
He told that staff who suffered positive for Covid-19 cases are yet to receive any insurance package from any insurance company and this is sad.
The Medical Supt also explained that there is no more vigorous contact tracing than it used to be in the past.
"Currently, when you bring a patient to the hospital and he is confirmed positive Covid-19, the caretaker is advised to go back to the house and observe the Covid-19 protocols for 14 days.
"After the 14th day, if there are no symptoms then the case ends there," he disclosed during a roundtable meeting with staff of the facility and the media on Wednesday, April 21, 2021, at Damongo in the Savannah region.
He appealed to the Department of Social Welfare to help identify some Community stakeholders to always perform the burial since the people don’t have much trust in the workers of the Social Welfare Department.
Abdul Sammed Gurundari Savannah Region
