THE ORTHOPAEDIC TRAINING CENTRE- Double Trouble for Staff and Patients As Third Wave of COVID 19 Hit Ghana [Final Production]

Paul Dushie, Accra

Entrance to the outpatient department

Imagine sitting next to someone who has sweat dripping down the face in this era of COVID 19 and as it begins to rain, you are all crammed together under a small shelter in a hospital or clinic.

 The safety of patients, in the aftermath of the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic is in  jeopardy as a result of the lack of space in the Outpatient Department of the Orthopedic Training Centre (OTC) in Nsawam.
Covid-19 hit Wuhan, China, and spread to the rest of the world minimizing face to face contact among individuals and affecting all aspects of life. The virus which affected just a few people when it first came to Ghana in March last year has now affected over thousand lives and counting.
According to the Ghana Health Service, as of September 3, 2021, there were 6,539 active cases and a total of 1,083 deaths. This situation is already scary but patients at the OTC are facing a double challenge. One measure to reduce the spread of the virus is social distancing but this not the case at the outpatient department of the Orthopedic Training Centre due to lack of space.
The Orthopedic Training Centre was founded in 1965 by Brother Tarcisius de Ruyter (SVD).  Located in Adoagyiri, in the Akuapim South Municipal district of the South Eastern part of the Eastern region of Ghana, the centre is about 40km from the capital city, Accra. 
The centre began as a polio treatment facility for children.

However, with the eradication of polio and Ghana being declared as a polio free country in 2015, the centre was transformed into a general rehabilitation centre, assisting handicapped individuals, especially children. The Centre consists of an orthopaedic clinic, where the handicapped patients are being treated, a workshop that produces various prosthetic parts and a children’s home that accommodate orphans as well. 

Some prosthetic parts at the centre
                                                                 

Just like other clinics and hospitals, the Orthopedic Training Centre also has an outpatient department that is designed to treat people who do not need to be admitted for overnight treatment. The department which was initially built for a small number of patients back in the 90s currently accommodates about 150 patients in a day. This has made life at the centre disturbing for both staff and patients who have to manage the space available.

In recent times, authorities at the centre say patients do not visit the centre regularly to examine their conditions hence, training them on how to use the artificial parts properly become a problem.

A physiotherapist at the centre, Judith Armah, who mainly trains children suffering from cerebral palsy explained that, training a child to do something needs more attention and focus but with the situation they are facing, she has no option. “When there are lots of distractions, it is difficult to get the child’s attention to do whatever training the child needs to do.” She added.

Judith Armah explains the challange she faces

Eleazer Asante who is the PRO for the centre also added that, the centre is doing its best to cater for individuals that visit the facility no matter the challenge they face. He further called on cooperate bodies and organizations to assist the centre.  


                                                                 

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