Heart disease patients avoid the cardio center – Dr Siriboe | Health

The executive director of the National Cardiothoracic Center (NCTC), Dr. Lawrence Agyemang Siriboe, says that the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has caused the reluctance of patients to use the facility for fear of contracting the virus.

He said the development had caused some patients to lose their lives.

Dr. Siriboe made this known when Engisys Limited, a biochemical company, donated personal protective equipment (PPE) to the center last Friday.

The items included face masks, hand sanitizer and N95 masks.

“Due to the fear of COVID-19, many of our patients are currently afraid to come to the hospital. So even when they are sick and need our attention, they are afraid.

“Unfortunately, we have had about two patients who refused to come to the hospital due to COVID-19, and when they were finally brought in, it was too late to help them,” he said.

Preventive protocols

People with heart conditions are more vulnerable to COVID-19, as they are at a higher risk of death and, to some extent, a higher risk of serious complications.

However, Dr. Siriboe assured the public, especially patients, that the center had some of the best preventive protocols for COVID-19, so there was nothing to fear.

“What we want to assure people is that all preventive protocols are observed in all the hospitals we have, especially the National Cardiothoracic Center,” he emphasized.

Dr. Siriboe explained that the facility authorities had put measures in place to ensure that all health protocols are properly observed to prevent any infection at the facility.

“The use of a mask is mandatory; Hand washing with running water and the use of hand sanitizer are mandatory. We also observe, to the extent possible, social distancing protocols. So patients should not be afraid to come to the hospital, ”he pleaded.

COVID-19 and cardio center

The executive director of the center also stated that the center, among others, had suffered a great economic loss as a result of the drop in the number of patients, mainly due to the pandemic.

“This pandemic, I will say, has affected everyone around the world and Ghana has not been left out, and of course the NCTC has not been left out either. We have been negatively affected in a number of ways, said Dr. Siriboe.

He added that “we have to spend a lot more money buying PPE than we normally would have bought and this has greatly affected our finances.”

He said the center was practically closed during the closure, adding that “we had to close the center. So there was practically no generation of funds to support the center. So it has had a lot of negative impact on the center ”.

The executive director noted that the center had not seen as many infections among patients as seen in the West.

COVID-19 Case Count in Ghana

Ghana registered its first two COVID-19 cases on March 12 this year.

Active COVID-19 cases as of yesterday stood at 470, with 34 new cases registered. There have also been 45,618 recoveries, while 299 patients have sadly given in to the disease.

Heart disease

Heart disease is often very life threatening, and therefore early medical attention is often recommended.

Some of the conditions that are prevalent in Ghana include blood vessel diseases such as coronary artery disease, heart rhythm problems (arrhythmias), and heart defects that people are born with, commonly known as congenital heart defects.