By Michael Kofi Kenetey
The Eastern Regional Hospital in Koforidua recorded 1,830 deaths in 2022 which is an appreciation of cases as compared to 1,500 and 70 recorded in 2021 representing seven point nine percent.
Among the list of causes of death is stroke, which remains the leading cause of death at the hospital and claimed 157 lives, followed by pneumonia, prematurity, chronic liver cirrhosis, cardiac failure, and HIV/AIDS.
This came up during the 2022 Annual Performance Review meeting with the media in Koforidua.
In the same year under review, the hospital recorded 5,200 patients and 59 total deliveries with 46 maternal mortality. The Medical Director at the hospital, Dr. Arko Akoto Ampaw, addressing the media, noted that OPD attendance in 2022 saw a decrease from 2,083, 1,014 in 2021 to 2,068, 1,091 in the year 2022, representing a decrease of five point three percent.
According to him, 86 points and 5% of patients were insured, while 13 points and 5% were uninsured.
Dr. Akoto Ampaw’s presentation of the statistics revealed that tonsillitis, which is the inflammation of the tonsils, two oval-shaped pads of tissue at the back of the throat, remains the leading cause of OPD cases, which have seen an increase of two point five in 2022.
This was followed by rheumatism, hypertension, conjunctivitis, malaria, and a urinal tract infection, among others.
The Medical Director added that the hospital, which has 429 beds, has a daily occupancy rate of 93.1 percent, meaning the hospital beds are always full to capacity.
The hospital recorded 75 absconders, which have cost the hospital over one hundred and three thousand cedis. He commended the media for their reporting on the need to provide the hospital with CT scan, which has yielded results.
