Families in the Western Region may soon have quicker access to critical care as plans advance to establish the region’s first Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at Effiankwanta Hospital.

For years, critically ill patients have been transferred to facilities in Cape Coast or Accra due to the absence of an ICU at the hospital, a situation residents say has led to preventable deaths.

A significant boost to the project came on Tuesday when Chief Executive Officer of Focus1 Group, Ing. Kwame Adu-Mante, donated GH₵100,000 towards its establishment. He described the contribution as an investment in saving lives and improving healthcare in the region.

Speaking to journalists, Ing. Adu-Mante explained that GH₵66,199 of the funds will be used for furnishing the ICU, while the remaining GH₵34,000 will cover auxiliary expenses necessary for the unit to become operational.

“This ICU is not just about equipment,” Ing. Adu-Mante said. “It is about giving people a fighting chance when life is hanging in the balance. No family should lose a loved one simply because critical care is too far away.”

Health professionals at the donation ceremony emphasized the vital role an ICU plays in managing severe cases of trauma, post-surgical complications, stroke, respiratory failure, and life-threatening infections. The lack of such a facility often forces risky patient transfers during their most vulnerable moments.

A senior nurse at Sekondi Hospital, speaking on condition of anonymity, described the current situation as emotionally draining. “There are times when you know a patient could survive if intensive care were available,” she said. “This project gives us hope that we can finally save more lives.”

Ing. Adu-Mante’s commitment to healthcare in the Western Region extends beyond this donation. In 2018, while serving on the Health Committee of the Effia-Kwesimintsim Municipal Assembly, he spearheaded the construction of a health post in Takoradi to serve traders at the Takoradi market circle.

“This region raised me,” he stated. “Supporting healthcare here is not charity; it is my responsibility.”

Residents have welcomed the donation with enthusiasm. Ama Mensah, a trader in Sekondi, shared her grief over past losses. “We have lost people because they had to be sent to Cape Coast or Accra,” she said. “An ICU here will save many families from pain.”

Kwesi Appiah, a taxi driver, urged other individuals with ties to the Western Region to contribute. “This should challenge all well-meaning people from the Western Region,” he said. “Healthcare is about life, not politics.”

Organisers of the ICU project are now appealing to corporate institutions, professionals, traditional authorities, and indigenes of the Western Region, both within Ghana and abroad, to provide further support in terms of funds, equipment, or expertise.

They believe the ICU will be a testament to collective responsibility and a shared achievement for the region. “When the doors finally open,” Ing. Adu-Mante concluded, “they will open because people chose to come together for the sake of life.”

For the communities of Sekondi and beyond, the establishment of this ICU represents a shift from anxiety and fear to hope and the promise of survival.

Image Source: MYJOYONLINE