Another ambulance crash, this time with samples of suspected Ebola patients
An ambulance carrying samples from suspected Ebola patients in Makeni, Northern Province, rammed into a heavy (caterpillar) vehicle this afternoon at the Makeni highway. The ambulance was heading to the Kenema laboratory in the Eastern part of Sierra Leone. According to Abu Bakr Kargbo, a reporter for the Standard Times newspaper who witnessed the accident, there were no fatalities. Abu Bakrr also confirmed that the samples were safe, and have been taken back to Makeni.
This is the second time an ambulance has involved in a road crash. The first was carrying confirmed Ebola patients from Tonkolili, also in the North, to the Kenema treatment center. The fact that samples and patients have to be transported across different parts of the country for tests and treatment underscores the pains some people have to endure before accessing any treatment. Their samples have to travel first, after two or more days, the patients will now have to take the same journey as their samples over long distances, that is, if they are lucky. Some have died before the results from laboratory tests return. This awkward situation speaks volumes about the difficulties our gallant health workers are facing in fighting this ignominious disease. It reinforces the urgent need for more laboratories and treatment centers across the country.
Sheriff Mahmud Ismail
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