Less Than 100 Mechanical Respirators In Hospital As Covid 19 Invites Itself To Ghana

…IMANI’s Kofi Bentil

Senior Vice President of policy think tank, IMANI, Mr. Kofi Bentil, has reminded Ghanaians of grim statistics at the country’s hospitals, in regards to respiratory equipment, as the deadly covid 19 disease hits home in Ghana.

In a post, he points out that there are less than one hundred (100) mechanical respirators in hospitals around the country. These are the artificial breathing systems that patients with full blown symptoms from the covid 19 pandemic would need for management.

 Consequently, in the event that infection rate runs riot in Ghana like it already has in other countries, the country’s installed capacity would be quickly outstripped.

What’s more, Mr. Bentil also points out that stored oxygen is also running out at the hospitals, meaning if patient numbers were to increase, they would not have stored oxygen to depend on.

“Thing about covid 19 is that there is no point traveling outside for care!

“Nowe we will understand what it means to build systems for health delivery instead of band aid solutions. We have less than 100 mechanical respirators and oxygen is running out when we have a respiratory tract pandemic,” Mr. Bentil wrote on Facebook.

In the same post, he goes on to lampoon the Akufo-Addo government’s decision to build a national Cathedral even though it has such dire deficiencies in its hospitals.

“Dear God, please help us, remember we are building you a Cathedral. And we are religious, and we have prophets who speak to you and you tell them things.”