Disgruntled doctors at the Department of Accident and Emergency at the country’s frontline hospital, Korle-Bu, have threatened to lay down their tools and withdraw their services over what they describe as poor level of preparedness of the unit in the fight against the fast-spreading deadly Coronavirus.

Citi News reports that the doctors, in a Memo to their Head of Department, decried the usage of a side ward as an isolation centre without the necessary Personal Protective Equipment (PPE).

“We write to express our general dissatisfaction with the preparedness or lack thereof of the department to combat the current COVID-19 pandemic. We also wish to express our displeasure with the events surrounding the hospital’s first confirmed case.

“Firstly, the pandemic; an existential threat to us, you will agree has to be handled with decisiveness and transparency. It is based on this that, we are against the actions or inactions taken before, during and after the case had been confirmed,” part of the memo reads.

According to the doctors, the ward in question was the holding centre for the first patient who tested positive for the coronavirus.

They added that the conditions of the isolation centre were not appropriate as it is not well equipped with the required personal protective equipment.

“We will like to remind management of the department that, it has failed woefully in providing adequate protection for the staff and as such, we’re left with little choice than to resort to protecting ourselves in the face of clear and present danger.

The doctors are making the following demands:

1. Provision of appropriate PPEs; including N-95 face masks

2. Provision of a proper isolation unit for suspected cases in lieu of the current
sideward we use at ‘yellow’

3. Expediting the testing of all staff of the department for SARS-Cov2

4. Creating clear channels of communication between management and the staff of the department; in order to prevent the events surrounding the first confirmed case from happening again.

5. The immediate closure of the ER for fumigation.

The World Health Organisation has already stressed the importance of the Personal Protective Equipment amid shortages in some of the worst-hit countries by the virus.

Shai-Osudoku District hospital constructs COVID-19 isolation centre
The Shai-Osudoku District hospital within the Shai-Osudoku District in the Greater Accra Region has constructed a five-man capacity isolation centre to handle Coronavirus patients.

The facility was funded from the hospital’s internally generated fund.

It was spearheaded by Dr Ken Brightson, Director at the Hospital.