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| The Narh Bita Hospital, Tema |
The
Liberia national who was flown to Ghana for medical attention but ended up
being abandoned shortly on arrival by the employer has passed on. He died in
the early hours of Sunday January 10, 2015 at the Narh Bita Hospital where he
has been on admission since October last year.
The
remains have since been deposited at the Tema General Hospital but it is
unclear whether the body will be interred here in Ghana or will be repatriated
and who takes responsibility from this point.
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| Moses Negbe while on admission at the Narh Bita Hospital |
Due
to the complex nature of the injury which could not readily be attended to in
Liberia, GMI arranged for his treatment here in Ghana and brought him to the
Narh Bita Hospital but abandoned him a few days later.
Despite
the numerous contacts made with the GMI officials and the authorities of the
Liberian Embassy (Ghana) by the hospital administration, none of the two
institutions showed up since October last year.
Until
his demise, Mr. Negbe was confined to his bed and could hardly move any part of
his body even after the surgery which was successfully conducted on Thursday
October 29, 2015. His post-surgical care
and daily upkeep became a burden not only on the facility but the nurses on the
ward who contributed to put food on the table for both the patient and his
nephew, Johnny Johnson, who accompanied him to Ghana for the treatment.
Presently,
his nephew has been left stranded at the hospital with no money to feed or
return to his home country following the expiration of his air ticket just the
day before his uncle’s death.
Background
Moses
Negbe was working in a Liberian port on August 31, 2015 when a log fell from a
crane and crushed his colleague to death, leaving him (Negbe) in a critical
condition.
He
was first rushed to the JFK Medical Centre in Monrovia where he spent forty
days but had to be flown out of the country for a specialist attention which
was not readily available in the country.
His
employer then arranged for his transfer from the hospital in Liberia and made
an initial payment for the surgery with a promise to provide for his upkeep
while on admission here in Ghana as well as his return back to Liberia after
treatment.
Two
weeks after their arrival, the company turned it back on Negbe and his nephew
who accompanied him on the treatment. All efforts to reach them including calls
to the company’s lead contact who doubles as a Field Agent, one Joe Sayahway, yielded
no result.
Liberian
Embassy’s indifference
The
Liberian Embassy which should have been responsible for Negbe’s welfare (given
his predicament and particularly his status as a Liberian national), also showed
no interest in the issue, describing it as a private affair despite the
numerous phone calls and visits to the consulate by Mr. Negbe’s nephew and
official of the hospital.
Response
from Narh Bita hospital
Deputy
Medical Director of the Narh Bita hospital, Dr. Catherine Larko Narh-Menkah said
“We have arranged, in the interim, for him to be deposited in the morgue while we
consider the next line of action. As a socially responsible corporate entity, we
did our best even under the very difficult condition given his peculiar
situation; it is rather sad he went through these terrible experience and died
as a result”.
