By Bampia James Bundu
Chiefdom speaker of Kamakwie, Momodu Kamara, has complained that the abrupt disclosure by the administration of Kamakwie Wesleyan Hospital resulted in a miscarriage, leaving the mother with serious complications in a Makeni hospital.
The mother, his niece, was due for labour at the time the hospital was shut down for days. He feared many more people might have suffered far more serious problems because of the closure.
The hospital is the only medical facility of its kind in the area serving six chiefdoms. Kamara told Politico that on Monday 26 August this year the hospital was closed down by staff “due to the unavailability of doctors and some internal problems weeks earlier”.
He recalled that about eight months ago two Americans, Dr. Karen Asher and Dr. Tom Asher, had to quit because of a policy that had made it difficult for them to serve as volunteer doctors for the last four years.
He said that after the resignation of the Ashers the hospital was left for about eight months without a qualified doctor, adding that a new doctor David Dyer, also an American volunteer, was later recruited to take over the affairs of the hospital in the chiefdom.
The new doctor, he said, only worked at the hospital for about two months and requested to the Wesleyan Church for an extension of his voluntary service in the chiefdom, but his request was denied.
He claimed that news of the doctor wanting to return to America caused the staff to close down the hospital, claiming that they could not continue without a doctor.
The Speaker said the authorities in the chiefdom had converged at some point to deliberate on the issue and eventually succeeded to resolve the impasse and reopen the hospital.
A letter dated 19 August 2013 and written by staff of the hospital was addressed to the assistant national superintendent and global partners, indicating their plans to abandon the hospital.
“The decision to withdraw the services of Dr. Dyer from the hospital is in our opinion unilateral…as we were not consulted before the decision was taken”, they said, threatening that if the decision was not reversed their actions would not only affect the church but also the people.
“We will discharge or refer any patient currently under our care if they continue to stay in our care on to the 25 August 2013 when there is no medical doctor. We will pay ourselves for August and the remainder will be paid into the hospital account. Afterwards, we will sacrifice and go without salaries for as long as it takes to recruit a medical doctor for the hospital”, they threatened.
In a telephone interview, the national superintendent of the Wesleyan Church, Reverend Usman Fornah confirmed that “the hospital was closed down but for only two days”.
He said the closure came about because Dr. Dyer, who was sent by their global partners in America to help the hospital for three months, was due to leave.
“Dr. Dyer wrote to the global partners, who sent him, demanding for an extension of his stay in Sierra Leone but with condition” Fornah said.
He said the doctor’s request was denied because the conditions attached to his stay were not approved.
“We have recruited a tentative doctor who will be working at the hospital while we look for a permanent doctor”, he assured.
Politico 03/08/13
