GARRAWAY |LINA |Grand Kru County Superintendent Doris N. Ylatun is appealing to the Ministry of Health to improve its logistics, especially ambulance services, in the county.
She also urged the County Health Officer through the Ministry of Health to always make provision for effective work and referral through their ambulance service, while local authorities along with the County Legislative Caucus are working with other partners to support the health sector of the county.
Ylatum expressed willingness to negotiate with the Legislative Caucus and the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning to ensure that the long-standing allotment is paid into the County’s health account to enhance operations in the sector.
She also assured that efforts by health officers to improve the county’s health delivery services will be reinforced by the county leadership.
The Superintendent’s appeal comes in the wake of the death of a 17-year-old girl on Saturday, July 20, after child birth.
The girl died after the ambulance at the Sass-Town Hospital ran short of fuel and could not be used to transport her to the J. J. Dossen Hospital in Maryland County.
Local residents have since alarmed and expressed dissatisfaction over the situation.
The County Superintendent made the disclosure during Liberia’s 172nd Independence Day Anniversary celebrations in the Atlantic City of Garraway.
In an interview with the Liberia News Agency (LINA) in District #1 in Grandcess District recently, Administrators at the government-run Rally Time Hospital informed the public that the financial crisis at the facility and lack of resources are impeding services at the facility, including those offered to pregnant women with labor complications and other emergency cases.
The referral hospital serves more than 70,000 people, mainly from rural communities in the county.
A source within the county health team indicated that the only functional ambulance that was filling the gap for referral in the county is currently down due to mechanical problems.
He also cited lack of electricity and drugs as life threatening problems in Grand Kru County.
The source also said that due to the recent embarrassing situation, emergency care patients are transported by motorcycles when the need arises to refer them to other facilities in the county.
Despite the numerous challenges, the Liberia News Agency has observed that the hospital staffs continue to work around the clock to ensure that essential medical services are delivered to patients at the facility.
When contacted on Sunday July 29, via mobile phone, County Health Officer, Dr. Sianeh Jackson Mentoe, confirmed the situation, but said she is currently in Monrovia working with central government and the county’s legislative caucus to resolve some of the problems confronting the health system.
Meanwhile, Dr. Mentoe is calling for private citizens’ action geared towards improving the county’s health care delivery system.
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