Allen Town Health Centre May Collapse
The Allen Town Hospital, East of Freetown, may soon collapse if urgent action is not taken to repair the hospital that serves as a major referral centre for mostly the destitute and the densely populated communities in the East of Freetown.
The hospital has been neglected by the Ministry of Health and Sanitation for over two years now, this medium has gathered.
Despite several reports on the dismal state of the hospital for the past years, nothing has been done to rehabilitate the building.
As a follow-up, this medium over the weekend visited the hospital and was amazed to realize that it is still in the same state two years ago with broken windows and doors because the original ones have since been vandalised by thieves.
Furthermore, it was discovered that there are no proper hospital beds, equipment and personnel to attend to patients let alone heath practitioners work at night.
The hospital has also suffered thieving of equipment and free healthcare drugs by some workers of the hospital and patients who consented to speak to this medium reported the non-availability of doctors at night.
It was alleged that some of the medical staff use their residences as private clinics where they use the stolen free healthcare drugs.
A nurse at the hospital said they are in short supply of drugs, the reason they always refer patients to the Rokupa Hospital and that they have not received their salaries over four months now.
The nurse also accused some senior staff of siphoning the drugs and other facilities as there is no accountability, cleaner and security at the hospital.
In a related development, even the main referral Connaught Hospital is very unhygienic due to the failure to pay the cleaners for the past four months.
Reports further alleged that nurses have not been paid for the past two months and that the free healthcare drugs are pilfered.
All efforts to reach the hospital management proved futile.
By A. R. Bedor Kamara
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