The medical superintendent of the Bimbilla hospital, Adam Barhama, was chased out of his office on Friday by angry youth who demonstrated against him, demanding that he, the accountant, and the administrator leave the premises.
The police escorted the three men to Yendi for their safety.
On Friday, the medical superintendent returned to the hospital, but the youth went to drive him out again.
The Municipal Chief Executive for Nanumba North, Abdulai Yaqoub, subsequently called for calm and urged the youth to exercise restraint.
Bimbilla Hospital in the Nanumba North municipality in the Northern Region has been in the news for the past few days.
The hospital was disconnected from water supply for non-payment of bills. The facility owes over GH¢240,000 in water bills.
This led to nurses at the facility embarking on a sit-down strike, and patients had to be referred to other hospitals.
The youth in the community became agitated and demonstrated against the management of the hospital.
They accused the medical superintendent of maladministration.
The medical superintendent had to be escorted out of Bimbilla by the police for his safety.
On Friday, a youth group, the Young Drivers Association, mobilized to conduct a clean-up exercise at the premises of the hospital, which was overgrown with weeds.
The medical superintendent returned to work on Friday, but the youth quickly remobilized to drive him out again.
The police had to intervene to prevent violence.
Abdulai Yaqoub, the MCE for Nanumba North, spoke to Citi News about the matter saying: “We met with the youth leaders and condemned their actions, as they did not seek permission for the demonstration.”
“The police commander reprimanded them, and they admitted their mistake. I have forwarded the petition they submitted to the regional minister, and he has visited the hospital. The water supply has been restored, and the hospital now has water, but the doctors are not around. When the youth demonstrated, we had to escort the medical superintendent and his accountant to Yendi for their safety. The situation is still not safe, but we are making progress. As it stands, Bimbilla hospital has no doctor to attend to patients, and this is going to be a major challenge, as the hospital is a major one in the area.”
The MCE said he is expecting the regional health director to visit the area to address the many underlying issues at the hospital.
“I was expecting the regional health director to visit the area to see what is going on. It is not only the water issue that has triggered the current situation. If he had visited, he might have heard or seen the other issues. I think the regional director has not been helpful.”
The MCE said the medical superintendent disrespected the traditional authorities by turning down their invitation. He said the traditional authorities would have called the youth to order, but the attitude of the medical superintendent did not help.
“I think the medical superintendent did not help matters. The traditional authorities invited him, and he disrespectfully did not go. The traditional authorities are those who would have called the youth to order if they were misbehaving, but in this case, the medical superintendent did not show them any respect, so how could they intervene?”
He called on the youth to exercise patience as they wait for a response to their petition.
“I call on the youth to exercise patience, as I have submitted their petition and we are waiting for a response. I plead with them to be calm.”
As it stands, Bimbilla hospital is still not operational, and the worst of it is that there is no doctor at the hospital. According to Citi News sources, the other medical superintendent also left, saying he could not stand the heckling being meted out to his colleague.
Citi News contacted the medical superintendent, who said he was instructed to go by his boss, the regional director of health services.
“I was told by my boss, who is the regional director of health. He was not happy about what had happened and said the hospital should not be locked down like that. He instructed me to come and plead with the nurses to open the wards. Even the regional minister said the hospital should be operational, so it was my boss who instructed me to come. I told him the place was still volatile and that it was not safe for me to go. He said he was going to contact the MCE to provide security both at the facility and in my house, so that was why I came. We scheduled a meeting at the facility, but then I got a call from the MCE saying that he heard I had come, and I answered yes I was in. He told me the youth were coming back, so I decided to leave. The youth came when I was leaving, they blocked my car and deflated the tyres, it was the medical director who gave me a car to leave.”
On returning to his post after things stabilize, the medical superintendent said he had done his best for the municipality, and it was time for him to move on.
“I don’t think I will come back,” he said. “I’ve done my best for the municipality, and it’s time for me to move on. I’ve spent exactly two years in the municipality. In 2022, the best medical doctor and the best anaesthetist came from the hospital.”
“I was also able to organize my senior colleagues, and we did free surgeries for patients. Since 2022, the hospital has not recorded any maternity death. All this and this is the prize the people of Bimbilla are paying me. I give everything to God Almighty.”
On the issue of disrespecting the traditional authorities, the medical superintendent said it was far from the truth. He said he was in touch with the chiefs.
“I never disrespected the traditional authorities,” he said. “How could I? When they invited me, I told them I was in Tamale for a workshop, and it would end over the weekend. I told Naa Zo that I would come over the weekend. On Monday, when I came for the meeting, Naa Zo said they had shifted the meeting to the evening.”
