TTH pairs preterm babies due to insufficient incubators

Due to an inadequate of incubators at the Tamale Teaching Hospital (TTH), the Pediatric and Child Health Department has been forced to couple premature newborns into single incubators.
The unit now has 15 operational incubators, which can accommodate up to 25 premature newborns at a time.

It was also found that the Kangaroo Mother Care Unit only has 7 beds available for breastfeeding mothers, forcing some moms who do not have access to beds to sit on chairs to care for their premature kids.

Dr. Alhassan Abdul Mumuni, head of the Tamale Teaching Hospital’s Pediatric and Child Health Department, told GBC News that the Unit’s insufficient incubators are harming quality health care delivery.

Neonatal fatalities now account for over two-thirds of all deaths in the first year of life and nearly half of all deaths in children under the age of five.

According to experts, the first week after delivery is critical for newborn survival since most neonatal fatalities might be avoided if moms and newborns had access to cost-effective therapies.
The Tamale Teaching Hospital is unquestionably a referral center for the North’s five regions.

For decades, the hospital has housed a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). UNICEF named it the Best United Facility in Ghana in 2016.

Every year, the unit registers around 1,000 preterm births. Premature newborns are most commonly seen in the Northern area, sections of the Volta, Upper East, Upper West, Brong Ahafo regions, and parts of Togo and Burkina Faso’s southern region.

This is why insufficient equipment and technology, like as incubators, are so concerning for newborns’ survival.

Dr. Alhassan Abdul Mumuni, said when the Unit is at its peak, they are compelled to put 3 or 4 babies in one incubator. ‘’And this is not a healthy practice’’, he noted. ‘’Also, the Unit does not have enough oxygen supply’’. Dr. Mumuni noted that the Unit is expanding to improve access to health care and for that matter, the numbers are increasing which requires double of the supply currently being received. ‘’Currently, there is no space for parents who are on admission to take care of their babies’’, he noted.

credit: GBC