The Lives of some convicts at the Gushegu prisons who are made to wash hospital linen without adequate protection could be at risk, the DAILY HERITAGE can confidently report.
The services of the inmates are employed because the laundry that performs such functions at the Yendi Government Hospital which got burnt five years ago has not been renovated by the government despite several appeals to the Ministry of Health by hospital authorities.
Medics have explained to the paper that persons serving their sentences at the detention centre could contract infections which in some instances might not be visible in the interim.
Speaking to the paper in an interview, the medical superintendent at the hospital, Dr. Samuel Abankwah, said the hospital�s laundry has been burnt for the past five years but, no effort has been taken by the government to renovate it, despite several pleas.
He said due to that they are forced to hire the services of the prisoners to wash their hundreds of bed sheets and other linen used at the hospital.
He conceded that the hospital linen can be very infectious if adequate protection is not sought while washing them.
On accommodation, the medical s superintendent said they do not have staff accommodation for health personnel who are posted to the facility.
�When the health workers are about coming, the hospital goes to town and rent rooms for the staff. We sometimes encourage them to rent their own rooms whereupon we pay the rent advance,� he added.
He said the longest period at which doctors posted to the Yendi Government Hospital had stayed was three months after which they pack bag and baggage to the city centres.
<<Print>>