BARCLAYS STAFF REFURBISH TAMALE TEACHING HOSPITAL (PAGE 18, NOV 12, 2010)

THE Emergency Theatre at the Tamale Teaching Hospital (TTH), which was in a very deplorable state, has been refurbished.
The theatre was given a new look over the weekend when the staff of Barclays Bank in Tamale undertook renovation works there to mark the Barclays Make A Difference (MAD) Day — an annual event that allows staff of the bank to undertake philanthropic work for communities and institutions.
With the support of skilled artisans, the Barclays staff fixed broken doors and windows, changed the ceiling and repainted the walls of the theatre. They also cleaned various sections of the theatre.
Initially, the theatre, known as the Casualty Theatre, had been in a shabby state. Its ceiling was badly damaged, as a result of which it leaked when it rained, while the paint on the walls had been washed off, with the doors and windows developing cracks.
The surgeon in charge of the theatre, Dr Stephen Tabiri, commended the staff of Barclays Bank for their kind gesture, describing it as very significant for the effective operation of the hospital.
He said the Emergency Theatre was the first point of entry for emergency cases, noting that some life-threatening cases were treated there.
“If this theatre is in good shape, it will help save many lives because the time spent in transporting a patient to the main theatre on the third floor could be so critical to the person’s survival,” he stated.
Dr Tabiri noted that the refurbishment of the theatre was timely, following the commencement of a major rehabilitation of other parts of the hospital by the government.
He said the theatre was still in need of other facilities, including a surgical lamp, an anaesthetics machine, a suction machine and a cupboard for storing drugs, sutures and other items, and appealed to other corporate bodies to come to the aid of the hospital.
The leader of the workers, Mr Robert Pusababuap, explained that the Barclays MAD Day was a unique strategy adopted by the bank to ensure that it honours its corporate social responsibility, through its staff, to the communities in which it operated.
He said the staff had chosen to support the TTH Emergency Theatre because of its importance to the health of inhabitants of Tamale, adding that the TTH was the only tertiary health facility in the north and it served as the main referral centre for the three regions in the north.
In a related development, the staff of the Prestige Centre of Barclays Bank in Tamale also undertook some renovation work at the Little Flower Basic School as part of the MAD Day celebration.
Mr Kwame Twum-Barimah Ampofo, the Manager of the Prestige Centre, described this year’s MAD Day events as very successful.
“We have been able to make a difference at two important institutions and we hope to improve upon this next year,” he said.