Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) has shut down its Paediatric Emergency Unit (PEU) and directed 40 of the personnel and their families to go into self-isolation after a staff of the hospital tested positive for the Coronavirus (COVID-19) disease.
An internal memorandum, dated May 5, 2020 and signed by the Head of Directorate of Child Health, which was leaked to the press, stated that “a staff in the directorate tested positive to COVID-19 last week that led to almost all staff of the ward in question and some staff of CR 10 going on self-quarantine.”
While the hospital was finding ways to deal with the issue, it “has once again been hit with another Covid-19 positive test results involving a patient referred from Tafo Government Hospital who was on admission for four days, before expiring on Thursday, April 30, 2020,” part of the memorandum read.
The second case has caused an additional 26 staff to go into self-quarantine from last Tuesday (May 5), while the management at KATH has come out with measures to help the hospital cope with the load of caring for the large number of patients on admission, as well as dealing “with the psychological impact on other staff.”
The memorandum stated that the PEU was closing its doors to all new admissions with immediate effect for one week, and all exposed staff should self-quarantine for two weeks from the date of last contact with the positive COVID-19 case.
It also directed all exposed staff to liaise with the Child Health COVID-19 response team to have their samples taken immediately for COVID-19 tests, and directed the PEU admission team to refer “all new cases to access other paediatric health services centers in the metropolis.”
The notice of closure of the PEU has been brought to the attention of the Chief Executive Officer and all members of the Directorate of Child Health of the facility through the Medical Director.
The post KATH shuts down Paediatric Emergency Unit, personnel, families go into self-isolation after staff tests COVID-19 positive appeared first on The Chronicle Online.
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