Chinese Embassy in Ghana and the Chinese business community have donated 15 ventilators and other medical supplies to the Greater Accra Regional Hospital in Accra.

The Hospital, one of the foremost Covid-19 management centres in Ghana is seeking to set up a dedicated Intensive Care Unit (ICU), as the country begins to experience increasing cases of critically ill patients.

In the Ashanti Region, the Ghana Medical Association issued a crisis warning June 16.

Even though the Ghana Health Service (GHS) has consistently denied the country’s health facilities are stretched by the increased cases, doctors working in those facilities have insisted cases at hand are more than the facilities can handle.

The Association’s Regional President, Dr Paa Kwesi Baidoo told JoyNews Covid-19 deaths - which is already the highest in the country so far – could further shoot up, blaming the inability of doctors to separate Covid-19 cases from other persons seeking care at the facility.

But in response to the crisis at the national level, Deputy Health Minister Dr Bernard Okoe Boye said several facilities in Accra and Kumasi, including the Greater Accra Regional Hospital, the University of Ghana Medical Centre and the 37 Military Hospital are increasing their capacity to handle more novel coronavirus cases at the intensive care level.

‘‘Because Covid is a contagious disease, if you have lets say an ICU in say ridge, space that will take let’s say 12 beds, with Covid-19 you can take only take about three or four. So by the nature of the disease itself, few cases take more space. And it also accounts for the reason why people are asking that we create more space to take care of them” said Dr Okoe Boye.

He adds, “When you come to Ridge for example, they have about 8 beds or so high dependency units. But we want to have ICU units, we want to create 12 beds now - Covid ICU.”

The Greater Accra Regional Hospital appears to be making the biggest expansion, setting up a completely new and specially dedicated 12-bed ICU to handle critical Covid-19 cases.

Medical Director, Dr Emmanuel Sropenyo expressed hope to have the centre ready as early as next week.

“What we’re trying to set up most recently, because of the expressed need from the national Case Management Team, is to have an area for critical care, of Covid positive cases and we’re looking at having a 12-bed facility…the area has been identified, the necessary work that needs to be done is ongoing," Sreopenyo said in an interview with Head of JoyNews’ Health Desk, Fred Smith.

Already some 15 ventilators as well as other medical supplies which will be crucial in setting up the ICU at the Greater Accra Regional Hospital.

Chinese Ambassador, H.E. Shi Ting Wang who made the presentation on behalf of the Chinese business community in Ghana said only solidarity and cooperation can help the world effectively defeat the virus.

“China and Ghana stood hand in hand since the beginning of the outbreak. At the beginning of this year, when china’s epidemic situation was in its most difficult period, Ghana gave us a lot of support. And in return, when the outbreak began in Ghana since March, China spared no pains to help Ghana and other African countries in fighting against the virus,” he said.

China was the first country to send medical supplies by chartered flight to Ghana. In the past few months, batches after batches of medical donations have been sent to Ghana in different ways, including Chinese government assistance, Jack Ma Foundation, the local Chinese community and enterprises donations among others.