KATH temporarily suspends new emergency admissions as Accident and Emergency Centre becomes overcrowded
The management of the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) has announced a temporary suspension of new emergency admissions after its Accident and Emergency (A&E) Centre became overwhelmed with patients beyond its capacity.
In a statement issued in Kumasi on Tuesday and signed by the Head of the Public Affairs Unit, Mr. Kwame Frimpong, the hospital disclosed that the A&E Centre was currently full and unable to accommodate additional emergency cases for the next 24 hours.
According to the statement, the facility, which was originally designed as a 37-bed centre, is currently managing 61 admitted patients across its Orange, Yellow and Red critical wards, with an additional 34 patients waiting to be attended to.
“The Accident and Emergency Centre is full and overflowing with waiting patients and is therefore not in a position to admit new emergency cases for the next 24 hours,” the statement said.
Management has consequently appealed to the public to seek medical care at peripheral hospitals across the Ashanti Region while efforts are made to ease congestion at the centre.
The hospital explained that the decision to temporarily halt new admissions was necessary to safeguard the lives of critically ill patients already receiving treatment.
“In order not to unduly endanger the lives of critically ill patients, management has deemed it appropriate to temporarily curtail further admissions so that the backlog of cases can be attended to within the next 24 hours before new ones are admitted,” the statement noted.
KATH further revealed that it was engaging the leadership of the Ashanti Regional Health Directorate to coordinate support from other health facilities in the region to accommodate emergency cases during the period.
Management assured the public that the situation was being closely monitored and reviewed regularly by emergency physician specialists and other healthcare professionals.
Source: Ghana/otecfmghana.com
