By Rachel Kakraba
Maternal healthcare services at Mamprobi Hospital in the Greater Accra Region, is steadily rebounding following weeks of intense public sensitization after a baby abduction case at the facility earlier this year. The incident, which sparked fear and uncertainty among expectant mothers and nursing mothers alike, is said to have led to a sharp decline in attendance especially at antenatal clinics, due to safety concerns. However, authorities say deliberate efforts by management and staff to restore public confidence are beginning to yield results. This came up during an exclusive interview with GBCGhanaOnline in Accra, during a follow-up visit to the facility, months after an alleged baby abduction or theft incident at the hospital.
Background to alleged baby theft incident
In February this year, a 33-year-old woman, Latifa Iddrisu, was alleged to have abducted the baby at the Mamprobi Hospital, located within the Ablekuma South district of the Greater Accra region, dressed as a nurse. She was captured on the facility’s CCTV cameras carrying the infant and leaving the premises with what appeared to be a sack. The footage later circulated widely on social media, leading to her arrest and prosecution. The baby was subsequently reunited with the parents.
Follow up visit
The news team returned to the facility to assess how maternal health services are shaping up, following the baby abduction incident, which sparked widespread public concern. The visit was also to understand some of the measures management is implementing to restore public confidence in the hospital.
Acting Medical Superintendent, Dr. Henrietta Fiscian Bannor, admitted that the incident affected antenatal clinic services.
“It occurred on the postnatal ward after the woman had delivered the baby. So the main concern was at our reproductive health clinic and antenatal clinics. Before the incident we could get between 10 to 20 registrants on a daily basis. But for that first week, after the news broke, it dropped to as low as five. But now I’m happy to say that we are back to full force and operating”
Dr. Bannor also recalled the emotional and psychological impact the incident had on staff, hence psychological support was provided.
“When you go out of your way to do the best for your clients and some of these setbacks come, it makes staff morale go down. There was a lot of feedback, all sorts of comments. So we had to get some psychological help or some form of counseling for the staff who were involved and then especially also for the mother”
Internal investigations
She said that while court proceedings are ongoing, the facility has conducted internal reviews to identify security gaps and for relevant reforms and interventions.
“We did our checks for our own consumption in terms of trying to identify where the lapses were, and as I said, we have put in measures. But in terms of detailed investigation, because that same day the matter was handed over to the police, the police is handling it”
Dr. Bannor, noted the incident was a wake-up call to both management and staff, as well as clients to be more security conscious and alert.
Improved surveillance and security
Dr. Bannor, said sensitization sessions have been incorporated into services particularly antenatal clinics to ensure expectant mothers become conscious of their security within the hospital environment.
“We’ve told them that, yes, you are here to receive care, and you meet health care professionals or workers. But then you may, once in a while, find an imposter who may find their way into your midst”
“As a facility, and I’m sure it goes on in all the Ghana Health Service facilities, everybody must be in their appropriate uniform and a tag and as clients you must see their name tag on their uniforms” Dr. Bannor added.
She said staff have also been discouraged from the wearing of scrubs.
She said the incident raised the need for the hospital to have more surveillance cameras as well as the need for clients to be security conscious.
“We had cameras, but we realized that we need more of those cameras which we have worked on. And then the general public to be very security conscious. So as part of their care, when they come to the OPD, there’s a talk on being security conscious”
“If you listen to the woman’s story, what happened was that somebody picked her baby to give medication. But if your baby is being picked up for medication, you must be curious because usually the medications will be given in your presence. So we are training them to be more security conscious and not just trust people”
Dr. Bannor, said identification systems for both mothers and babies are strictly enforced, stating identification tags are removed only at discharge after rigorous security checks.
She further explained “for access into the clinical areas, we have visitor tags to indicate that you are a visitor. So if you find your way on the ward and there’s no visitor’s tag, we will sack you from the ward”
Steps to rebuild public trust
Dr. Bannor, said the hospital has undertaken deliberate intervention programmes with stakeholders to restore confidence. This she said is yielding positive results.
“After the incident, there was a lot of involvement, first of all, with our mother body, which is the Ghana Health Service, through our Sub-Metro director to the Regional Director, and eventually the Director General”
She said stakeholders meetings including assemblymen, queen mothers, opinion leaders, and the Member of Parliament for the area, Hon. Alfred Okoe Vanderpyue and the entire community for strategies to restore confidence back in the facility.
Dr. Bannor, encouraged clients to take charge of their personal security.
“We as a facility, we would do what we have to do in terms of re-educating, providing security, providing cameras and everything. But as an individual, you also need to be security conscious. If you have an individual coming who seems to be a bit suspicious and dodgy, you are free to ask questions, you must be satisfied with what is going on”
She assured that the incident will not repeat, urging the public especially those in Mamprobi and its environs to feel confident in seeking care at the hospital.
“Fortunately, we are not going to have imposters entering our work spaces since that was what happened. So I will say that for us, one marker for us is the increasing numbers at the antenatal clinic and the continuous care on the wards after delivery. The staff are also on the alert, so to the public, yes, safety is assured”
Appreciation for support
The Acting Medical Superintendent Dr. Henrietta Fiscian Bannor, expressed gratitude to all those who stood by the facility and offered support during the challenging period.
“I want to say thank you, especially to our mother bodies, right from our medical director to the Regional director, and the ministry as a whole, our Director-General. The Minister for Gender was also here to support the woman with some toiletries. Our honorable MP was also with us all through. So I’d like to say thank you to them for the support. That has restored our morale as a facility, because they appreciated the work that we do”
Reassurance of safety
Dr. Bannor, reassured the public of maximum security, emphasizing maximum security has been put in place to ensure client safety.
“We want to tell the community that they should still trust Mamprobi hospital, the hospital has been here for a long time and this year we are heading towards 50 years. So there are a lot of good stories about Mamprobi Hospital. We are still the eye of the community and we’ll continue to offer the best care to the best of our abilities”
About Mamprobi hospital
Established in the 1960s as the Mamprobi Polyclinic, the facility was in 2020, upgraded as a hospital. It runs a 24 hour service with emergency care, maternal, dental and ophthalmology services as well as other support services.
Conclusion
Management of the Mamprobi Hospital is confident of enhanced security arrangement assuring the public of maximum protection at all times. They say security is a shared responsibility that the public must also demonstrate at all times.
