The International Rescue Committee (IRC) has donated emergency essential drugs, four radio handsets and a rehabilitated ambulance to the government hospital in Kenema/ District Health Management Team (DHMT).
The handing over of the items was done during the International Rescue Committee and Kenema Government Hospital/ District Health Management Team (KGH/DHMT) Ambulance committee meeting held on April 14 at the health education office at the government hospital in Kenema.
The rehabilitated ambulance was donated by UNFPA for the Reproductive Health Programme Emergency Obstetric Services Maternity Unit at the government hospital in Kenema. Tamba Gborie, the Field Coordinator of IRC in Kenema while presenting the keys, disclosed that a very huge amount of money was put into the ambulance which had been parked at the hospital for over five months before it came to its present state.
He said if managed well it would continue to serve the community for a very long time before it went into any bad state again, adding that the four handsets donated to the hospital were already in the hands of the medical superintendent Dr Alimamy Philip Koroma. He disclosed that the Emoc was coming to an end in July this year and he therefore appealed to the community people to prepare themselves to sustain the ambulance when the project phased out.
Speaking about the drugs the Emoc manager IRC, Tamba Sam, said the IRC programme looked at the need of the community that was why they put in place the buying of these essential drugs because there had been cry at the Emoc centres for emergency drugs. He added that for the ambulance to work effectively some drugs needed to be provided and getting the ambulance service in place meaning reducing the patient risk. Tamba Sam said this time round the drugs were not just sent to the centres but were packet, parcel and celled before addressing them according to the Emoc centres in the district and a form provided for a nurse in charge to sign for it with the aim of ensuring safe delivery to the centres. Presenting the key to Mr Wright who represented the Medical Superintendent the chairman of the meeting, Mr Kallon disclosed that in the last district council meeting the issue of ambulance was discussed and that they were making known to the should be prepared to take over the responsibility of the ambulance service.
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