Children born and admitted at the Bo Government Hospital are dying more than the mothers despite the Free National Health Care Service for both of them.
Despite the inception of a Free National Health Care Service for them since April last year, a total of 44 deaths of children were registered from April to November in 2010. Against their mothers, the death rate goes to the minimal level of only 17 deaths as against the same time-frame of April to November 2009. In all, the Hospital attended to 10,821 children and admitted 969 within the same time limit under question. But this figure is limited only to the Paediatrics Department. At the maternity Ward, there was an attendance record of 1,226 with 609 new deliveries and 68 Caesarean Section.
Starting with the starting month of April for the Free Health Care, there was a steady flow of patients as the Paediatrics Department attended to 277 patients with 12 to be admitted and with no death registered in that month. At the Maternity Department, there was an attendance of 171, with 6 new deliveries, 9 C/Section with no death registered.
However, the results were not the same and encouraging in the subsequent months that followed. With a record rate of 1,392 attended cases, 167 were admitted with a death toll of 3 in the month of May. The Maternity Department continued with its average attendance rate of 172 with 133 new deliveries, 15 C/Section and 5 deaths. At the Paediatrics Department, the death rate continued to fluctuate within the subsequent months with 4, 6, 9, 10, 5 and 7 deaths for the months of June, July, August, September, October and November respectively. The death rate continued in the same way at the Maternity Ward but with no deaths recorded at the end of the last two months of October and November. There were 1, 7, 3 and 1, death recorded for the months of May, June, July, August and September, respectively.
But the statistics does not stop there. In all there was a record rate attendance of 17, 163 patients at the Out-patient Department, with a record rate attendance of 6,559 on the Under-fives and another record rate attendance of 5,151 at the Anti-Natal-Care unit.
But the Hospital officials considered the statistics good and encouraging.
The Medical Superintendent Dr. A .P. Koroma related that this statistics could be changed with the availability of more cost-recovery drugs. As for the drugs for the Free Health Care, he explained that “drugs are available for the next three months” though most of the drugs he explained were not Injectable and anti Malaria drugs.
Dr Dabundeh of the Dental Clinic Unit affirmed this too by saying that “this figure is good.”
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