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State Gold Mining Company drives away
the only doctor at Prestea Hospital
Prestea (W/R), Jan. 05, - Ghanadot/GNA--For the past one
week, the Government Hospital at Prestea has been operating
without a medical officer.
This is because the Medical Officer in-charge of the
hospital has been ejected from his apartment by the State
Gold Mining Company (SGMC) which claims ownership of the
bungalow.
Consequently, patients have to travel a longer distance to
Tarkwa to access healthcare.
Prestea hospital serves many communities, including Dwirigum,
Kwame Niampa, Bondaye, Mbease-Nsuta and Kutukrom.
In an interview with Ghana News Agency (GNA), Dr Kennedy
Azantilow, the Medical Officer in-charge of the hospital who
is now residing in Takoradi said there was a court order
initiated by SGMC for him to quit and therefore, he left the
bungalow on December 28 2007.
Dr. Azantilow said in 1996 when SGMC was divesting Prestea
Gold Mine, it handed over its hospital to the Mininstry of
Health (MOH) which accepted and absorbed all the workers who
were staying in SGMC bungalows at that time.
Dr Azantilow said seven years after the handing over in
2003, SGMC came back to order the hospital staff to vacate
the SGMC bungalows.
At this juncture, he said, MOH wrote to SGMC to sort it out
at the Ministerial level but later SGMC sent the case to
court and the court gave the ejection order.
Meanwhile, Mr Emmanuel Kwasi Ayensu, Wassa West District
Chief Executive told the GNA that the District Assembly was
prepared to offer hotel accommodation to for the Doctor in
the interim.
GNA
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