No Blood, No Care; Korle-Bu Turns Away Pregnant Women

Scores of expectant mothers at the ante-natal clinic of the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, were left stranded today [Monday], as health authorities insisted on compulsory blood donations from the patients before attending to them.

The new directive, according to authorities, is to prevent the shortage of blood at the facility.

Doctors say blood donation has seen a decline in most health facilities across the country in the last three to four years, a  situation which is affecting healthcare delivery, especially for pregnant women.

According to Citi News who visited the facility, scores of pregnant women were not attended to for failing to abide by the directive.

“Scores of pregnant women are frustrated because they are not being attended to. What is happening is that when they are called, they are told to donate two pints of blood so in the case where you come alone, you are supposed to bring two people to come and donate this blood…Most of them here are frustrated. There are no seats to sit on.”

The affected patients said they were not given prior notice before the enforcement of the directive.

A pregnant woman expressed her frustration about the development, saying “I did not know about the directive. If they won’t take care of me they should just let me know. I do not want to waste my time here. “