The Minority in Parliament has intensified pressure on the Ministry of Health and the Ghana Health Service (GHS) to conduct power audits in all health facilities nationwide.
Their demand aims to ensure continuous electricity supply for these facilities even during national grid outages.
Additionally, opposition lawmakers are calling for an immediate exemption of all health facilities from the ongoing load shedding exercise.
The move comes in response to concerns that power cuts in healthcare settings could lead to avoidable deaths.
Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, Member of Parliament for Juaboso and ranking member on the health committee, voiced these demands.
He highlighted a recent tragic incident at the Tema General Hospital where a nursing mother lost her three-day-old baby allegedly due to a power outage.
“We demand immediate action to prevent such tragic incidents in the future,” Akandoh stressed.
The bereaved mother, Rashida Abubakar Tetteh, recounted the heartbreaking experience of being informed by a doctor that her child couldn’t survive due to non-functional medical equipment during the blackout.
“I went to visit my son, but I didn’t see him. I was waiting outside when one doctor came to inform me that they were sorry, but due to the lights out, my child could not survive because the incubator was not working.
“The lights went off on Tuesday evening. No staff has spoken to me, and they haven’t said anything to me,” she narrated.
Grandmother of the deceased baby, Rebecca Johnson, also expressed grief over the development.
“It’s painful, they have killed my child because of dumsor; I am in pain. We have nothing to say to the hospital. A hospital like Tema General said they didn’t have petrol in the generator. Is this how we are going to act in this country,” she cried.
Rebecca Johnson, the grandmother of the deceased infant, expressed deep sorrow and questioned the hospital’s preparedness during power outages.
Responding to these claims, the Tema General Hospital issued a press release denying allegations that the power outage led to fatalities.
The hospital reaffirmed its commitment to patient safety but faced criticism over the alleged lack of preparedness during electricity disruptions.
“The Tema General Hospital assures the general public that the Facility will continue to put the health and safety of its patients at the core of its business,” the statement concluded.
The minority’s call for power audits and an end to load shedding in health facilities underscores growing concerns about healthcare infrastructure resilience in Ghana.
See post by Tema General Hospital disputing claims:
