By Joyce Danso/ Emelia Nkrumah
Accra, May 21, GNA- The Stephens family has handed over the renovated Yebuah Maternity Ward to the 37 Military Hospital at a ceremony in Accra.
The renovation which started in October last year, witnessed tiling of the wards, re-roofing, expanding and equipping, the kitchen of the ward, the various wards, staff restrooms, electrical wiring, plumbing work, provision of storage cabinet and lockers for staff, changing of doors and windows among others.
The renovation of the 54 bed- capacity ward was a birthday present from the children of Mrs Helena Gaisie Stephens, the Chief Executive Officer of Kaysens Limited to her.
Speaking at the handing over ceremony, Colonel Richard Naab, Officer In Charge of Faustina Yebuah Maternity Ward of the hospital was elated over the massive renovation that had taken place.
He said the Yebuah Maternity ward is a 54 bed-capacity ward with a very high patients turnover rate.
“It conducts 3,000 -3,500 deliveries per annum with an average of 250 – 290 deliveries monthly.
Within this ward, we have the Admission Bay, Labour Ward, Operating Theatre, four side wards and six lying-in wards.”
According to Colonel Naab, the ward had not seen major renovation over the last decade and had developed serious plumbing, electrical, carpentry and roofing problems over the period.
He said though the hospital had challenges with staff and the equipment, the initiative from the Stephens family should encourage staff of the ward to offer quality services by ensuring that all preventable maternal and perinatal deaths were averted.
“We the staff are thereby challenged to deliver for women well.”
He said the SDG Goal three, required all countries to take steps to ensure that by the year 2030, a global maternal mortality ratio was reduced to less than 70 per 100,000 live births and the neonatal mortality ratio “is at least as low as 12 per 1,000 live births”.
” Ghana per Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR) is currently 308 per 100,000 whiles the neonatal mortality ratio is 25 per 1,000 live births.
Our institutional maternal mortality ratio is 176 per 100,000 births whiles the perinatal mortality ratio is 30 per 1,000 live births.”
He said to assist the hospital in contributing to its quota to the achieve the national and global goals, “we recommend the equipping of the High Dependency Unit at the Yebuah ward.”
He also appealed to benevolent organisations to assist in renovation of the maternity theatre and the establishment of the gynaecological theatre that was separated from the obstetric theatre.
“We are also calling for the equipping of the neonatal intensive care unit,” he added.
Brigadier General Raymond Ewusi, DIrector General in charge of Medical Services, Ghana Armed Forces, said the quest to provide quality and efficient services in a patient-friendly environment was dear to the heart of the hospital.
Brigadier General Ewusi said a good environment of a health care facility “influences the healing process” and same directly impacted on patients by reducing their high level of anxiety and stress.
He noted that the gesture of the Stephens family would make mothers comfortable.
He, therefore expressed gratitude to the Stephens family by adopting more wards for similar renovations.
” We ask Almighty God to bless the family and their business interest. May the blessings associated with your generosity keep increasing with hearty giggle and cheerful smiles expressed by babies and mothers respectively,” he added.
Mrs Helena Gaisie Stephens praised her children who spearheaded the renovation and appealed to staff of the hospital to show love to all the patients that they attend to.
According to her, working at the maternity ward constituted “a calling” from God and urged staff to render services to all with love.
She appealed to other benevolent organisations and friends to extend support to the hospital.
The hospital also presented a plaque and a gift to Mrs Gaisie Stephens and 91-year-old Colonel Retired Faustina Cecelia Yebuah whom the ward was named after.
Friends and family members started donating to the hospital soon after the handing over of the ward
The 37 Military Hospital was established in the British West African Colony on July 4, 1941 to take care of war wounded soldiers.
Later on the hospital established the maternity to take care of women during pregnancy and child birth and the peripheral period.
GNA