Improve security protocols at health facilities to protect patients, staff

Calls for adequate security systems to make health facilities safer and secured for patients and visitors have intensified over the saga of a stolen baby that rocked the Mamprobi Polyclinic on Tuesday.

The call, spearheaded by the Minister of Gender, Children and Social Protection, Agnes Naa Momo Lartey, is believed to offer a cure to such incidents in future, and also protect patients, especially vulnerable new-borns from harm.

Dr Naa Momo Lartey and other Members of Parliament rushed to the facility on Wednesday when news broke that the missing baby had been found and the suspected woman that took the baby arrested.

The incident was said to have occurred on Tuesday, February 17, shortly after the mother delivered via a caesarean section.

The alleged abduction triggered panic among hospital staff and patients, prompting swift action by authorities and the police.

Addressing the media after reconciling baby with mother, Dr Naa Momo Lartey stated that the incident highlighted the importance of robust measures in health facilities to promote the safety of patients and staff.

She pledged that her ministry will work closely with the Ministry of Health and other relevant stakeholders to review and strengthen existing security protocols to ensure that the incident was not repeated.

Speaking to the media, Madam Precious Ankomah, the mother of the ‘lost but found’ baby said she was still in shock.

Narrating her ordeal, Madam Ankomah stated that the suspect disguised herself as a nurse and took the new-born under the pretext of administering medication.

She said after sometime, she decided to step out to check on the baby and met a nurse who enquired about the baby and said she was coming to them.

“That was when I felt there was something wrong and I quickly raised an alarm, drawing staff and visitors and family members to the scene,” she stated.

As of press time, the police confirmed reports of the arrest of the woman, Laifatu Salifu, in the centre of the theft storm and she was assisting with investigation to unravel the mystery around the whole incident.

By Linda Abrefi Wadie

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