Midwives and other nurses of the Cape Coast Metro Hospital maternity ward, have given their management up to Friday to provide them security, or they will quit some shifts.
The midwives gave a one-week ultimatum to the management of the hospital on October 5, 2017, citing various security lapses in and around the hospital which puts fear in them.
The ultimatum follows an armed attack on a nurse who was reporting for night duty on Tuesday, October 3. Two men on a motorbike approached her and seized her money, mobile phone, and personal belongings after assaulting her.
A letter written to the management of the Hospital partly reads, “As staff, we feel that our lives are endangered, hence we are humbly petitioning the management to provide security on the hospital premises with effect from today (Thursday, October 3, 2017), and “we want a security man to be with us on the ward at night duty so we can freely attend to clients who come in at night.” It added that “We have therefore come to a consensus that if our request is not addressed, we cannot continue the night shift, and the afternoon shift will end at 6:00 p.m.”
The hospital, located at Bakaano, a suburb of Cape Coast, was built several decades back, but still remains the preferred place for most women who give birth due to the peculiar professionalism of its nurses.
Citi News’ visit to the facility both day and night, unearthed diverse security and infrastructural lapses that put both staff and clients’ lives in danger.
Most parts of the hospital, the surroundings, and the wards, are not lighted, and it is difficult spotting any person entering a room meters away.
While some sections of the structures have been abandoned, those in use have problems ranging from dilapidated sections to torn nets at the wards.
Invasion of snakes, rodents and other reptiles at the maternity ward, has also become a regular occurrence.
One of the nurses narrated a recent incident where her colleague stepped on a snake whiles she sat around a table to take records at a ward.
“It was around 10:00 pm when a colleague was taking water for a client, and then she stepped on the snake and shouted, and we all ran away and the snake found its way out.”
Another nurse who once left the premises around 8:00 pm after her afternoon shift, also told Citi News that, “The place is very, very scary. You have to be looking around to see if somebody is around where you’re walking.
There is no light, very dark and very scary.”