The Deputy Director of Nursing and Midwifery Services at the 68-bed facility, Monica Asase, who disclosed this to the Daily Graphic in Sogakope last Saturday, said as of the morning of that day, there were 86 patients on admission at the Sogakope District Hospital, and that had prompted the authorities to mobilise 16 mattresses for the excess admissions.

She said admissions to the hospital were expected to rise further.

Adequate staff

Mrs Asase gave an assurance that the district health facility was adequately prepared for the situation at hand and had enough workers in readiness for any eventuality.

Shedding more light on staff strength, the Deputy Director of Nursing and Midwifery Service said there were now 500 heath workers, including doctors, nurses and other health personnel at the hospital, adding that those who were due for annual leave had been instructed to hold on until further notice.

Mrs Asase entreated the people in the flood-hit communities to continue adhering to the culture of proper and regular hand washing and to prepare their meals under highly hygienic conditions.

The Volta Regional Director of Health, Dr Chrystantus Kubio, corroborated the story later in Ho, and said rumours of snakebites were meticulously investigated by the health authorities and they were largely found to be exaggerations.

However, he said, reptiles were expected to flee the flood waters and visibly seek comfort and food in the various communities.

That may have accounted for their isolated presence in some of the communities, Dr Kubio explained.

He, therefore, urged the people to be on the lookout for the reptiles and report such cases immediately.

Dr Kubio said the Volta River Authority (VRA) had just supplied a large consignment of anti-snake venom to the health facilities in the affected areas to add to the existing stocks.

Meanwhile, the Sogakope District Hospital has not recorded any case of snakebite in the wake of the floods caused by the spillage from the Akosombo and Kpong dams, contrary to the growing rumours of serpents invading the communities to attack people.

Mrs Asase told the Daily Graphic that the hospital had also not recorded any case of cholera, typhoid fever and water-borne diseases so far.

That, notwithstanding, she said the hospital had enough anti-snake venom in stock to attend to victims of snakebites.