Coronavirus: Intensive Care Unit of KATH to operate at half capacity for 14 days

Due to the exposure of doctors and nurses at Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) to the novel Coronavirus, the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) is to operate at half of its capacity for the next two weeks. An internal memo dated June 12, 2020, stated: “Most of our Intensive Care Unit, ICU, doctors and nurses got exposed to Polytrauma patient on admission in the ICU, who tested positive for COVID-19. “The risk [assessment] put most of them at high-risk exposure and have to self-quarantine for 14 days. In view of that, an urgent management meeting was held and the duty roster of the remaining staff has been modified.” The memo stated further that; I. The remaining doctors will do cover for emergencies and obstetric cases only at NAKSA Theatre. II. The ICU will not run at full capacity for the next 14 days. The Memo was signed by the Head of the Directorate of the Anaesthesia and Intensive Care-KATH. Since the outbreak of COVID-19 in the country, about 168 health professionals have tested positive for the virus. According to the Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwifery Association (GRNMA) eight of the 168 have recovered whilst one has succumbed to the virus. David Tenkorang-Twum, General Secretary of GRNMA, stated in a recent interview that several nurses and midwives have been exposed and are currently under mandatory quarantine. He said the situation is worrying since the health workers are the primary human resources assisting the country to combat the virus. He noted that the rise of infection amongst health workers can be attributed to ineffective contact tracing, which means a lot of people are walking in and out of hospitals and infecting health workers.