Authorities of the Tarkwa Municipal Hospital where some victims of last Thursday’s explosion were sent to receive treatment have disclosed that some victims who were admitted at the hospital do not want to be discharged even though they have fully recovered.
Mr Chris Asher, a Physician Assistant (PA) at the hospital told journalists that, “the challenge, is that because their homes have been destroyed and they have nowhere to go, some of the patients who are due to be discharged still want to stay at the hospital.”
The hospital authorities have described the patients’ posture as challenging, as their continuous stay would burden the facility to deny other patients the opportunity for admission.
Meanwhile, one of the in-patients has died. A male, who sustained critical injuries and was receiving treatment at the hospital died on Friday afternoon when hospital authorities were making arrangements to airlift him to a higher health facility in Accra.
His death brings to 14, the number of people who have died from the unfortunate incident which left scores homeless and several others injured.
Mr Asher said about sixty (60) of the victims were receiving treatment at the facility and some of the victims who sustained life-threatening injuries, including an 11-year-old girl, were airlifted to Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, 37 Military Hospital, Effia-Nkwanta Hospital and other higher medical facilities for treatment.
He said almost half of those who were sent to the Tarkwa Municipal Hospital with minor injuries were treated and discharged and was hopeful that more would be discharged in the forthcoming days.
Madam Grace Morgan, who is three months pregnant, was one of the victims receiving treatment at the Apinto Hospital near Tarkwa, where one of the five (5) who were sent there for treatment has been discharged.
She has successfully undergone surgery to extract a metal that was stuck in her thigh following the incident.
Madam Morgan was in a stable condition and responding to treatment as at the time journalists visited her at the hospital.
Another victim of the incident was a four-year-old boy who sustained some minor bruises on the belly, hand, leg and as well as mouth. All the others, according to Madam Emelia Nyani, a nurse on duty were responding to treatment.
Madam Nyani said a medical team went to the scene and provided first aid to the victims before they were transported to the various health facilities in that the emergency center of the hospital could only admit five (5) people due to its small capacity and called for an expansion of the ward.
