A nine-week-old baby boy has died at the St Gregory Hospital at Kasoa in the Central Region because his parents could not afford the cost of aiding his breathing with an oxygen machine.
Little Prosper’s parents stated that a medical doctor on duty pulled the plug from the oxygen machine because they could not pay GHS533 to keep their son alive.
Hospital authorities are tight-lipped on the issue explaining they are investigating the circumstances that led to the death of the baby.
Prosper was born on January 19, 2018, fell sick and was taken to the hospital on March 5 and died three weeks later.
The baby’s mother, Sefakor, stated that a few weeks after the baby was born she realised he not breathing well.
According to Sefakor, after preliminary tests, the St Gregory Hospital admitted them with the intention of transferring the case to the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital subsequently.
The baby was given blood and kept on the oxygen machine because he could not breathe well.
However, when it became clear the family could not pay for the cost of treatment before the intended transfer to Korle Bu, the doctor decided to take a drastic decision.
“That Saturday, the Doctor came, he ask me that I hear from my husband [about the bills] I say I didn’t hear. Then he removed the oxygen…it is too late,” Sefakor managed in the little English she could speak.
The baby’s father, Kennedy Kwao, said he chose the name ‘Prosper’ because he was hopeful that the boy will grow up to become a prosperous man.
That hope, however, has been curtailed.
Joynews
