A recent incident at Tema General Hospital has stirred controversy and ignited public concern after a video surfaced showing the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) plunged into darkness during a power outage. The video, accompanied by a grieving mother’s heartbreaking account, raised questions about the hospital’s Emergency Preparedness and the potential consequences for critically ill newborns.
In the video, the 24-year-old mother claims she was informed by a doctor that her three-day-old son couldn’t be saved because the incubator malfunctioned during the power outage.
“I went to visit my son but didn’t see him,” she recounted. “I was waiting outside when one doctor came to inform me that they were sorry, but due to the lights out, my child could not survive because the incubator was not working.” She tearfully narrated.
The mother’s grief was amplified by her mother, who blamed the hospital for the baby’s death. “They have killed my grandchild because of ‘dumsor,'” she cried. “A Big Hospital like Tema General said they didn’t have petrol in the generator. Is this how we are going to act in this country?” She queried in anger.
However, the hospital vehemently denies these claims. In a press release, Tema General Hospital stated, “It is worth noting that no lives were lost due to the immediate past current power outage.”
Read Also :
Bagbin suspends approval of new Ministers over Akufo-Addo’s anti-gay bill directive.
VP Bawumia Commissions Another Fire Service Academy And Training School
Duayaw Nkwanta Traditional Council Commends NPP Gov’t
The hospital’s response clashed with the video showing nurses struggling to care for babies in the dark, and their clarification that the darkness was caused by a “brief generator trip-off” hasn’t quelled public concern.
Dr. Akosua Agyeiwaa Owusu-Sarpong, the Greater Accra Regional Director of the Ghana Health Service (GHS), has also refuted claims of a baby dying due to the power outage. She said investigations confirmed the power outage and a temporary generator malfunction that took about two hours to fix.
Some of the hospital staff were heard in the video expressing grave concerns that if power is not restored in minutes, some of the critically ill babies will die.
However, Dr. Owusu-Sarpong emphasized that critical hospital equipment had backup power storage.” So if a baby died,” she clarified, “it is not because the baby did not receive the necessary care because of the power outage because all the machines were working.”
Ghanaians, however, are still questioning the severity of the power outage, especially considering reports that the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) threatened to disconnect power to 91 hospitals due to unpaid debts.
The incident has reignited discussions about Ghana’s ongoing struggle with reliable electricity and its impact on essential services like healthcare.
Source: Special correspondent for www.sankofaonline.com, Senam Joanita Amegashie, Accra.
