Mfantseman MP ends Saltpond Hospital water crisis

The Member of Parliament for Mfantseman, Dr Ebenezer Prince Kojo Arhin, has ended the water crisis that cut water supply to the entire municipality for nearly nine months and crippled the Saltpond Municipal Hospital.

The hospital, the second oldest in Ghana and the main referral centre for Mfantseman, operated without running water due to a breakdown at the Baifikrom Water Works, which supplied Saltpond township.

This situation posed serious Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) risks, with theatre and maternity services relying on sachet water purchased from outside.

However, the timely intervention by the MP has restored 24-hour running water supply to the hospital.

Background to the crisis

Explaining the background to the crisis in an interview with The Chronicle, Dr Arhin stated that “the crisis was caused by heavy siltation of the river source feeding the Baifikrom Water Works and an old, weak pumping machine that could not supply Saltpond”.

“For nine months, nurses had to ask women in labour to buy sachet water from outside to conduct deliveries and for theatre,” he added.

Dr Arhin described the situation as a serious IPC risk and linked it to a cholera outbreak in parts of Nankesido and Ankaful.

**Why the problem persisted **

He noted that although an estimate to dredge the river and replace the old pump was prepared in 2021, the project was abandoned due to cost, with no development partner willing to support it.

According to him, after the 2024 elections, he prioritised the issue and lobbied the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Charities) after presenting data on the health implications.

How the problem was solved

Dr Arhin explained that, “The intervention was in two parts. For the municipality, the river source was dredged and a new heavy-duty pumping machine was procured and installed at Baifikrom to restore supply to the entire grid.”

“For the hospital, a mechanized borehole fitted with a Reverse Osmosis (RO) system was installed to treat the saline water in Saltpond into WHO-standard drinking water,” he added.

The water purification plant

His intervention has seen two large overhead storage tanks and a standpipe extension provided as a permanent backup at the hospital.

“This has ended the era of nurses using sachet water to deliver babies, ended huge expenditure on water tankers and drastically reduced infection risk in theatre and maternity,” the MP stated.

Dr Arhin indicated that his office was committed to using the success story to lobby for support to build a modern municipal hospital to replace the 1920 structure.

The Medical Superintendent of the Saltpond Government Hospital, Dr John Moses Wereku, disclosed that about two years ago, the hospital spent more than GH₵50,000 to get water for staff and patients when there was an outbreak of Cholera.

Dr Wereku praised Dr Arhin for his timely intervention that has ended the serious water crisis that has bedeviled the hospital for far too long.

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