Street Sense Organisation (SSO), an NGO advocating road safety has donated items worth over GHC 37,000 to the Shai Osudoku District Hospital.
The items, which included 50 branded mattresses and 30 cartons of washing soap, were to support patients in the accident ward.
Mrs Gloria Laryea, a member of the Board of Trustees said, aside the police and the fire service, hospitals are the first point of contact in the event of any road accident to save lives of victims.
“That has informed our decision to complement their efforts of the hospital, which fall within one of our other objectives as an organisation,” she said.
She said most hospitals lack beds for patients and expressed the hope that the items would augment government’s efforts to equip the hospital and give some comfort to accident victims.
Mrs Laryea noted: “The country is saddled with road accidents causing havoc to both families and the economy at large as most victims fall with the youth bracket” and called for sustained awareness creation to further bring down the occurrence.
Dr Kenedy Tettey Coffie Brightson, the Medical Director, said the collaboration between SSO and the hospital would go a long way to save lives and streetism.
He said: “In our system and culture women are the economic backbone of every family and if any accident occurred on the road and there is death, then those who suffer most are the children, because the economic spine of the family is gone.
“Very often such children are found on the street and there, they learn so all kinds of vices and indirectly or directly we are made to suffer the consequences of our in decisions,” he added.
He said by donating, the SSO has shown a tremendous sense in trying to prevent all these occurrences.
Dr Brightson noted that they are on the major accident-prone road – the Adenta to Somanya road – “and very often when accident occurs all the victims are brought here and they can be brought in their numbers, sometimes it can be overwhelming
He said technically, when we managed to take care of them, it becomes extremely difficult to recoup the resources we pumped into them “because they are patients and, on the spot, you needed to save them, you save them and there are no relatives coming.
“But you cannot also say that because they are unable to clear themselves you would not do that again, then you are defeating the reasons for which you exist to save lives.
“SSO is helping us to save lives; SSO has touched us,” he added.
He expressed gratitude for the gesture and appealed for others to support them with blankets and bed sheets to enhance their work.
