Deserted: No staff to run Esuoso community clinic

Buildings constructed by benevolent groups for healthcare delivery at Wassa Esuoso in the Tarkwa-Nsuaem Municipal Assembly of the Western Region have been deserted as residents and pregnant women trek several miles to access medical care. Esuoso is a community with over 3000 residents surrounded by many natural resources including manganese. A non-governmental organization in collaboration with traditional leaders of the community started work in the early 2000s to construct a clinic at Esuoso but suffered financial challenges. However, the partners have been able to complete 4 rooms and 3-bedroom flat as doctor’s quarters with support from the Ghana Manganese Company which operates in the area. Staffing the facility to discharge healthcare has now become a herculean challenge for the residents and traditional leaders there to surmount. One pregnant woman bemoaned the fact that many women in her state walk several miles to get medical attention. “For us pregnant women, we cover miles to Bonsarie before we get a vehicle to access medical attention at the municipal capital Tarkwa. The situation gets worse when we are in labour,” said Christiana. According to the queen mother of the Esuoso traditional area, Nana Akua Bema II, many attempts to get the Ministry of Health involved in running the clinic over the past four years have been futile. [caption id="attachment_42159" align="aligncenter" width="564"] Nana Akua Bema II[/caption] “We now call on the new government to staff the clinic so we can save our pregnant women and patients from running helter-skelter to Tarkwa Government Hospital”. She noted that from Esuoso to Takoradi is about four miles including crossing a stream, which she pleaded for a bridge to be constructed on it. “’When it rains and we cannot ply the road, we increase the fare from (GHc3 to about GHc7) from Tarkwa to Esuoso because we suffer to connect to the villages due to the floods,” a driver called Essel told 3news.com. In an unrelated development, Reach Out Foundation, a non governmental organisation, has urged children of Esuoso to take their education serious in order to secure a bright future for themselves and the Esuoso community. The foundation as part of its outreach programme donated stationery, clothing & assorted items to both the old and young people in the community after a child empowerment durbar at Esuoso. By Spencer Kwabena Boateng Mensah |3news.com]]>