Wiaga (U/E)-Ghana, June 3, GNA – The Feok Planning Committee in the Wiaga Traditional Area in the Builsa North Municipality of the Upper East Region, has presented an Electrocardiogram (ECG) machine to the Saint Lucas Hospital at Wiaga for improved diagnostic assessment.
The machine, which was a request by management of the Hospital, displays heart rhythms and electrical activity in a graph electrically or printed on paper and is valued at about GHȻ20,000.00.
Mr Yaw Akumasi, the Vice Chairman of the Committee, in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) after the machine was presented to management of the Hospital at a brief ceremony, said the Committee realised the essence of the machine in healthcare delivery and immediately procured it from proceeds of the Wiaga Feok festival celebration.
“We know that this machine will not only be helpful to residents of Wiaga, but to residents in the entire Builsa North Municipality because anyone who visits the Hospital with cardiovascular problem would be attended to,” Mr Akumasi said.
He said apart from the machine, the Traditional Council and the Committee had over the years supported the Hospital, adding that plans were underway to construct lavatories for staff and patients at the hospital.
He said other sectors in the area were not left out as the Committee gradually and evenly spread development across the community, “The Committee is not concentrating on health alone, but we have often offered support in the education sector, particularly at the Wiaga Senior High School.”
Mr Akumasi said the Traditional Council was ready to render support to institutions and organisations in the community to help improve the living conditions and well-being of residents, and further appealed to the government to assist in development projects, especially road construction in the area.
Dr Bismarck Lambon, the Acting Medical Director of the Hospital, who received the machine, expressed gratitude to the Feok Planning Committee and the Traditional Council for the support.
He said the facility had over the years established a cordial relationship with leadership of the community, and especially the Wiaga Feok Planning Committee, adding that “They have done some things for us in the past.
“I remember in the wake of COVID-19, we received donations in the form of face masks, hand sanitizers, Blood Pressure apparatus among others,” Dr Lambon recalled.
He said even though the Committee supported the Hospital annually after the Wiaga Feok festival celebration, management saw the need for an ECG machine, which he indicated was a critical diagnostic tool for clients with cardiovascular conditions.
“So, as we kept seeing more clients with cardiovascular conditions that needed an ECG done, we thought that it was time the facility had one. We met the Feok Committee and made a request, and it responded to our request,” he said.
Nab Akanfebanyueta Asiuk II, the Chief of Wiaga, told the GNA after he observed the machine being tried on a resident by Dr Lambon, that there was the need for the facility to be adequately equipped for effective healthcare delivery.
He noted that the machine would cut the cost involved in patients travelling to Navrongo or Bolgatanga for ECG services, and said the Traditional Council was ready to support the Hospital within its capability to continue to deliver quality healthcare.
