During last year, the Bamenda Regional Hospital is said to have carried out 59.538 consultations, admitted 13.371 patients and 70.503 patients were hospitalised.

Speaking during an award ceremony to honour hard-working staff, the Director of the Bamenda Regional Hospital, Dr Thompson Kinge Njie, regretted that, of the 863 deaths, a good number of them, about 43, could have been saved.

Out of the 863 deaths, 25 percent died of HIV/AIDS-related illnesses.
As to what went wrong, the Director of the hospital, Dr. Thompson Kinge, regretted that so many factors contributed to the situation.

“We are unhappy to announce that the primary reason behind most of the preventable deaths or what we might even term “careless deaths” is related to the fact that many sick people come very late to the hospital, at such a point when the doctors and nurses are unable to do anything again,” Kinge disclosed.

He said preventable deaths are found more among those people who are still unaware of the tremendous treatment opportunities the Government has put at the disposal of all Cameroonians, rich or poor, in all the public hospitals including the Regional Hospital Bamenda.

Some of these opportunities that Kinge cited include free treatment for children below five years who suffer from uncomplicated malaria, free distribution of mosquito nets to pregnant mothers.

Within the context of HIV care, Kinge said medications and testing for HIV are free for children and pregnant women as well as laboratory investigations for initiation of HIV therapy and follow-up have been subsidised at a cost of FCFA 21.000 to a bare minimum of FCFA 2.500.

However, he thanked the Directorate of Disease Control at the Ministry of Public Health, RTG and the Northwest Special Fund for Health Promotion, Expertise France for the assistance they have been giving our Day Care Centre where about 700 persons are consulted every month and about 6,000 patients on regular treatment.

Still within the context of staff motivation and the need for quality health services, Dr Kinge said President Biya offered the Bamenda Regional Hospital a state-of-the-art imagery centre that was inaugurated last year by the Minister of Public Health.

This centre is serving on x-rays, scanners and iconography.
Stating that his administration will continue to encourage and spur those who have not received any award so that they redouble their efforts by recognising their contributions to nation building and valuing, Dr Kinge said, with the means are available, prize awards will be an annual issue.

The choices of those who received prizes hinged on a sense of duty, honesty, competence, punctuality work organisation and appearance.