The Rotary Club of Accra-Osu RE (Regiment Engineering), a non-governmental organisation (NGO) in collaboration with the Wheelchair Foundation, on Friday presented five wheel chairs valued at GH₵9,000 to the Accident, Emergency and Orthopedics Unit of the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital in Accra.
The Rotary Club of Accra-Osu RE which falls under Rotary International is purposed to bring together business and professional leaders in order to provide humanitarian service and advance goodwill and peace around the world.
In an interview with the Ghanaian Times, Mr Joshua Quayson, President of the club,said the donation which formed part of the club’s projects to be undertaken this year was to support the department in the delivery of quality healthcare services.
“We are donating to the accident department because of the number of cases they record each day. Because of these okada guys there are mostly accident victims and you come and there are no wheelchairs to convey them to the department, so we thought it wise to donate to them,” he said.
Indicating that the club had seven areas of focus, he said the donation fell under Disease Prevention and Treatment.
The other focuses were “peace and conflict, prevention resolution, water and sanitation, maternal and child health, basic education and literacy, economic and community development and the environment.”
“This project falls under disease prevention and treatment where the Rotary Foundation looks at reducing the causes and effects of disease by improving the capacity of local communities, thus the health centres,” he added.
He said the club would from January to June undertake two extra projects to achieve his aim for his one-year term of office.
“We intend to undertake three projects and this is the first year that we are doing so, the next ones will be next half of the Rotary year thus from January to June. We are looking at a borehole.
Dr Frederick Kwarteng, Head of Department (HoD), Accidents, Emergency and Orthopedics of the Hospital, for his partstressed that “it is a great joy receiving these items because we deal with accident victims who have fractured limbs and cannot walk.”
He said the Orthopedics department managed such problems, so the wheelchairs would help in the delivery of quality healthcare at the department.
“Wheel chairs are essential tools in our practice and we know that the hospital alone and for that matter government has a difficult providing all our needs and so donations of these sort come at the right time solve an acute need. So we are all happy to receive them,” he said.
He lauded the club and expressed the department’s gratitude for the gesture shown, indicating that “we are most grateful and we behave like Oliver Twist, we ask for more.”
DrKwarteng again used the opportunity to call on well-meaning individuals and corporate organisations to do same to support the hospital deliver quality healthcare services to people.
BY ABIGAIL ARTHUR
