A medical officer at Asunafo South District Hospital, Dr. Abdallah, has revealed how his team saved a newborn baby with life-threatening breathing difficulties despite severe shortages of medical resources and a non-functional ambulance.
Speaking on Adom FM’s Dwaso Nsem morning show, he explained that the hospital’s ambulance had been out of service for five months.
“We have ambulances in the region, and every district is supposed to have one, but ours has been broken for five months. Villages have always had to come to us using different means of transport because there is no ambulance available” he said.
The baby, referred from a maternity home in Nobeko near Kukuom, was in critical condition immediately after delivery, with irregular breathing that required urgent resuscitation.
“We have a specialized nurse, but she couldn’t determine the cause of the baby’s distress,” Dr. Abdallah said. “We had to act quickly and decided to transfer the child to the next hospital in another town.”
Attempts to secure an ambulance from nearby hospitals failed.
“We called the hospital in Goaso, but they had an ambulance with no oxygen. We then called Bibiani Hospital, but they also couldn’t provide transport,” he explained.
With no other options, the team improvised, using a taxi owned by one of the hospital staff.
“That’s how we transported the child, with a medical officer holding the oxygen cylinder in the taxi, assisted by a colleague in the boot, while our nurse monitored the baby’s condition throughout the journey,” Dr. Abdallah said.
Despite these challenges, the staff stabilized the newborn using antibiotics, oxygen, suction, and manual ventilation, ultimately saving the baby’s life.
Dr. Abdallah’s account reveals the dedication of health workers in the region and the urgent need for fully functional ambulances and essential medical supplies to handle critical cases.
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