Yaounde General Hospital to rekindle hope

The first referral hospital in the country is fast becoming like any ordinary health outfit due to the poor state of infrastructure and other shortcomings.

The present state of the Yaounde General Hospital leaves much to be desired. The first referral hospital in the country is fast becoming like any normal hospital due to the poor state of infrastructure and other factors.

At the Yaounde General Hospital yesterday, April 26, 2016, work was going on normally. Medical staff could be seen attending to patients and other needs. What has been the cause for worry over the years is the state of the infrastructure.

In most parts of the hospital the paint on the walls is peeling off, most of the corridors are dark and patients have to wait for consultation in these corridors and obsolete equipment abounds. However, one patient who went to consult at the hospital said the hospital renders adequate health services in spite of the poor state of the infrastructure.

The Technical director of the Yaounde General Hospital, Kolo Jean Claude Philippe said since its creation in 1987, the hospital has faced a lot of degradation at the level of infrastructure. Due to lack of maintenance, there has been an accumulation of problems as far as infrastructure is concerned. The story is the same in all the domains.

Water installations are worn out for a greater part and electrical installations that exist, no longer respect existing norms. The air conditioning system is as well outdated.

Most of the equipment in the hospital has not yet been replaced and some are deteriorated. At the level of the equipment the problem is not only the need for new equipment, but to be able to meet the demands of modern technology. Kolo Jean Claude Philippe says these problems have badly affected the activities of the hospital although it still gives quality treatment.

Efforts are being made to improve the state of the hospital and raise the health facility to modern standards. This is seen through the development plan between the Yaounde General Hospital and the State that went into effect in 2014 and that enabled the hospital to start resolving its problems.

The Minister of Public Health, André Mama Fouda launched the emergency plan for the restructuring of the hospital on Monday, April 26, 2015. The rehabilitation work is in line with triennial emergency plan of action in the health domain.

According to the technical director, the emergency plan of action has come to strengthen the work started by the development plan. He expressed hope that in the short run or in one year the hospital will be profoundly renovated both at the level of infrastructure and equipment.