I heard about Dodowa Hospital, officially called Shai-Osudoku District Hospital for the first time through my sister some few years ago. She simply told me; “Bern, anytime you are ready to go on transfer, Dodowa hospital would be a good place for you.
Well, I never bothered to ask why Dodowa hospital because I had complained about the mind-blowing high cost of renting in Accra. At that time, I felt she simply mentioned that hospital because the cost of renting would be relatively lower in Dodowa township than in central Accra. But I was wrong. Her suggestion was not mainly about rent issue.
Again, some years ago, I read a widely publicized news article about a particular health facility that recorded zero maternal death (both mother and babies). That is an impressive achievement worthy of commendation.
But guess what? As someone who works in one of the largest and highest healthcare facilities in Ghana-Teaching Hospital, some colleagues and I quickly downplayed such healthcare-success news. The reason is simple; we said, “That is no news because smaller healthcare facilities do not accept complicated health conditions and they quickly refer patients if things get a little bit tough.”
To my mind then, if they could easily push away very bad cases, why should it be news when they record zero maternal death? Well, I might not be alone with this assumption because it’s unacceptable for any smaller healthcare facility to retain a deteriorating case (patient), without referring to the closest bigger, better-equipped healthcare facility.
Eventually, the moment of my transfer arrived. As we all know, it involves series of long process especially when crossing from an autonomous healthcare facility like a teaching hospital to a different healthcare agency like the Ghana health Service (GHS).
In the process, first I used to travel from Cape Coast to central Accra to submit documents and later had to follow up at the district level.
The first time I traveled on the Dodowa road, right from the Adenta junction to the GHS district office at Dodowa, I was like “Wow, what a crazy road to travel on!”. The entire stretch was completely engulfed in red, dusty scene. My white shirt, like a chameleon, turned dusty brown. My sister long warned me about the bad nature of the road but I didn’t know it was that bad.
Shai-Osudoku GHS district office, which is just by the roadside was my last stop and I was not obliged to visit the hospital. However, my sister kept suggesting I go to see the hospital before returning to Cape Coast the same day. Honestly, I just didn’t understand why. I must admit, I was a little bit disappointed by the bad nature of the road.
From my observation, Dodowa is more of a town with some new settlements scattered around edges of its mountainous landscape. Coupled with the bad nature of the road, I felt like I was going to live and work in one of the outskirts of Accra. Well, I was not bothered much. I felt it was time to move out of Cape Coast.
My sister seemed to be reassuring me that I would be fine at Dodowa and that the road construction would be completed soon. I took it normal as I thought she feared I would change my mind about living and working in the town. She appeared to be disappointed that I did not go to see the hospital for the first time before returning to Cape Coast.
On my second visit to the district office, I was given a letter to submit at the hospital. Not knowing exactly which direction to head, I explained to a motor rider to take me to the main hospital. To my mind, I felt I was riding to some small, low hanging kind of healthcare facility.
The rider getting closer to a well-planned and impressive center ahead, began to slow down. I asked him; Is that the hospital? He said yes. As if I did not hear well, I asked again, “Is that the Shai Osudoku District Hospital?” He responded again, “Yes please”. I was completely awestruck and felt a great sense of pride at once. I immediately called my sister amidst a gentle excitement and told her how beautiful the hospital is. Her only response was; “Bern, I told you. You would like the place”.
The First Impression
Right from some distance to the gate of the hospital, I found myself paying attention to the remarkable environment of the facility. The serenity, greenery, cleanliness, organization and general appearance of the facility create an impression that goes beyond what many people may ordinarily associate with a district hospital. The environment is beautiful and welcoming.
I walked past the elegant wide frontage of the hospital into its hall and it was never a case of “beautiful outward, ugly inward”. Inside the facility with all of its structures made me feel as though I had walked into one fine hotel. Everything was standard and looked premium to me.
A Week Experience on the Job
Finally, a unit was assigned and I started work. Without getting you bored with more details at this point, let me summarize my on-the-job experience at Shai-Osudoku District hospital.
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After a week of working in the hospital:
I am no longer surprised by why the hospital is widely recognized for its service output; especially maternal healthcare
I am not surprised that of all the healthcare facilities in the country; the President of Ghana chose the Shai-Osudo District hospital as the ground on which the government kickstarted its flagship national free primary healthcare policy earlier this year
I am not surprised that people choose to travel from distant regions to Shai Osudoku District just to receive healthcare at the facility
I quickly discovered it is a mistake for anyone to downplay the success of the hospital because it is actually not a small facility; it is sizable and equipped with fantastic resources, including healthcare personnel.
A Key Observation
One more thing that struck me about this healthcare facility is that, services provided are very intentional. It is not a “one-man show-boy” kind of thing but they appear to have a system in place that automatically leads to a very conscientious provision of healthcare services.
I will repeat it here because I think it is true; I jokily told one of my colleagues at my new unit this: “As for this hospital, I would advise any chronically lazy nurse or doctor never to come and work here”. It would be difficult for one to go on lazing around without being noticed.
Indeed, one may easily over-look it’s typical local name; “Shai-Osudoku District Hospital” but you cannot do so with its serenity, the beauty of the facility; and above all service provision that deliberately puts patients and clients’ satisfaction and feedback at the fore-front.
In conclusion, I must commend management and all staff of Shai Osudoku District Hospital for holding together the facility in such an attractive manner.
The writer is RN, author, public speaker and the founder of Bernajis Preventive Health Education (BPHE) as well as Patient Rights and Responsibilities-Ghana (PR&R). Check on some of his books here and on Amazon.
Such an informative read. Thank you for sharing!
Very nice write up, will visit the facility one day. Good job bro