Two patients died at the Tema General Hospital and the 37 Military Hospi­tal after health officials allegedly refused to attend to them due to fear of the deadly Ebola Virus.

The names of the deceased were given as Warrant Officer (WOl) Peter Azubire Atibire, 47, and Mary Adantey, 35.

WOl Peter Azubire Atibire and another soldier were quarantined at the 37 Military Hospital last Tuesday when they fell ill while on a peace-keeping mission in Mali.

Reports said the deceased was conveyed to a hospital in Mali where some people, including an Iman, were killed by the deadly disease.

Even though the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) later confirmed negative the sta­tus of two soldiers quaran­tined at the 37 Military Hospital in Accra - after their blood samples were sent to the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research (NMIMR) at the University of Ghana, Legon - it was too late to save WOl Atibire.

The relatives of the deceased have accused the hospital of causing the death of the officer.

According to them, negligence on the part of nurses and doctors at the 37 Military Hospital resulted in the death of their rel­ative.

Roland Awelinga, cousin of the deceased, who spoke to Daily Guide said, "Our late brother died because he was not attended to by the doctors and nurses in-­charge due to Ebola suspi­cion."

Explaining further, he said initially when their relative was sent to the hospital, he was admitted at the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) but later transferred to Bandor Ward where he was abandoned by the health officials.

According to him, pressures mounted on the nurses at the hospital to attend to their relative proved futile.

The Military Hospital has an Ebola Centre but the sol­dier was not transported there.

He said he was later informed that “our relative had passed on because he was not attend­ed to. One of the officers told us that the Ebola test result proved negative and that our relative died of stroke”.

Mr. Awelinga said the sudden death of their rela­tive resulted in the demise of his sister, Salamatu Asampana and he believes that “if our relative was given proper medical attention he wouldn't have died.

The late Asampana died yesterday at about 3am after she heard news of the demise of her broth­er.

Mr. Awelinga said, "The family has lost two relatives because of the negligence of the doctors and nurse at 37 Hospital. We are demanding our rel­ative from the hospital."

The late WOl Peter Azubire Atibire left behind two girls and a boy.

Tema Case 

The late Mary Adantey, 35, also died at the Tema General Hospital in Octo­ber due to the lack of med­ical attention when she was suspected to have con­tracted the Ebola Virus.

Narrating the incident to Daily Guide, Robert Adantey, brother of the deceased, said his late sis­ter returned to Ghana from South Africa in early Octo­ber and fell ill.

He said the deceased was conveyed to Crystal Hospital at Ashiaman and was later transferred to Tema General Hospital.

Mr. Adantey said the doctor and the nurses at the hospital refused to attend to her because she was suspected to have con­tracted the Ebola Virus.

"The doctors told us to wait for an Ebola test to be carried before they could attend to her. After several hours of waiting, my sister fell into a coma and sub­sequently died."

"When the Ebola test result came, the doctor told us it was negative and that the deceased did not con­tract the disease but she died of Septicemia."

The late Mary Adantey left behind two daughters.