The Medical Director of the C B Dunbar Maternity Hospital in Gbarnga, Arthur Jones Wuoh stressed the need to increase the allotment in the FY 2024 proposed National Budget for the C.B. Dunbar Maternity Hospital in Bong County.
Situated in Gbarnga, C.B. Dunbar is the only specialized maternal hospital in rural Liberia with a catchment community of over 60, 000 people.
He said the US$100,000 allotted in the FY 2024 National budget it’s very “too small to ensure the effective operation” of the hospital.
The CB Dunbar Hospital Medical Director said the hospital also caters to patients with maternal complications from bordering Towns and Villages within the Republic of Guinea.
Dr. Wuoh said long before hospital received a huge budgetary allotment which helped the Medical Director at the time undertake other projects and the hospital at the same time received medical supplies from NGOs, but with the current situation it’s difficult for him as a Medical Director.
“The budget of the hospital has dropped drastically,” Dr. Wuoh said “We are calling on the Bong County Legislative Caucus and the government of President Joseph N. Boakai and Vice President Jeremiah Kung to see reasons to increase the budget of the hospital.”
The C B Dunbar Hospital Medical Director said it’s quite small to run the hospital with a hundred thousand United States Dollars, adding the hospital carries on lots of surgeries, adding surgery is very expensive.
He said if the government cannot increase the budget of the hospital burden of surgery and treatment will lie on patients, but if the hospital budget is increased to get more surgical materials and medication patients who will be diagnosed with surgery or treatment will just walk in and get treated without paying is cent.
“As we speak the hospital is struggling to survive, Dr. Arthur Jones Wuoh said, the Charles B. Dunbar Maternity Hospital cannot survive on a US$ 100,000 budgetary allotment for a year; it’s quite small.”
The C B Dunbar Hospital Medical Director, who spoke in a very sad mood said if the hospital budget does not increase patients who are seeking medication will be asked to buy their own medication before being treated, something he said has the tendency or propensity to undermine modern-day medication and treatment.
“If the hospital budget is not increased the problems of giving paper or prescription to patients will continue, we will not close the hospital doors, because our business is to keep the hospital open and operating throughout the day and night,” he added.
Dr. Wuoh continues: “We do not want to continue to give people prescriptions. We need to have medicines in the hospital; we need surgical items in the hospital so that we cannot continue giving people paper or prescriptions outside of the hospital.”
For their part, educational stakeholders in Bong County lauded efforts of the Ministry of Education for the schools inspection in the county and described in the inspection as new day in the educational sector of the Country.
