The Medical Director of Tema General Hospital, Dr. Richard Anthony, has expressed deep concern over the frequency of individuals arriving at the hospital already deceased.
He said a total of 1,079 individuals, comprising 621 males and 458 females, were brought to Tema General Hospital dead on arrival in 2023.
During the annual performance review of the Tema Metropolitan Health Directorate, Dr. Anthony underscored the urgency of addressing this issue, given its escalating nature.
He emphasized the troubling nature of this trend, noting a significant rise from the previous year’s figure of 882 in 2022. Additionally, he highlighted that a majority of these cases involved individuals from the working class.
“We recorded a worrying trend of several people being brought in dead on arrival; it is alarming,” he stressed.
Dr Anthony said the hospital was looking into the possible causes of the trends and advised the public to promptly report any health issues to the nearest health institutions.
He added that sick people who might develop some complications after discharge from admission should also immediately return to the hospital instead of staying at home in the hope that their health would improve.
Statistics from the hospital available to the Ghana News Agency (GNA) indicate that the top 10 certified causes of death conditions in 2023 were cerebrovascular diseases, cardiovascular diseases, hypertensive complications, and diabetic complications.
The others were liver diseases, acute respiratory distress, severe sepsis, pneumonia, kidney diseases, and hypovolaemic shock.
