By Amin Kef Sesay
Good and well functioning health facilities in this country are very few and even those that are readily accessible are privately managed, thereby posing serious challenges for the vast majority of members of the public to get proper medical treatments for various ailments. Factors that could be responsible for the poor performance of public health facilities vary from outright corruption to lack of effective monitoring and evaluation mechanisms.
One of the private health facilities in this country which has stood the test of time and has been doing extremely well in the area of administering good treatments to numerous patients from different walks of life over the years is undoubtedly the Choithram Memorial Hospital.
Established decades back by an influential Indian merchant by the name of Pa Choithram, as a way of giving back to society, to provide qualitative medical treatments at affordable costs, the health facility is not only serving as an epitome of the good bi-lateral relationship between Sierra Leone and India but a place where medical cure to various ailments could be found.
Situated on Hill Station, Choithram Memorial Hospital, is considered by many as an ideal health facility which could not be merely dismissed as window dressing but simply because of the level of professionalism that is displayed by its medical practitioners in the discharge of their duties and the dignified way in which patients are attended to.
One of the things that are impressive about the hospital is the way and manner how the Doctors, nurses, cleaners, security personnel, administrative staff and other care givers are seen busy on 24 hours basis just in a bid to attend to the concerns of the patients.
With highly competent and professional medical practitioners, patients are treated with compassion and with all the due care that they deserve. Given rapt medical attention, patients are left with a psychological boost that indeed they are cared for and the nexus between the two has proven to add to the antidotes against certain ailments.
Just like any standard hospital, Choithram Memorial Hospital has the latest and sophisticated medical equipment which are very vital to use in the administration of sound treatments to patients. It is well known that in the absence of good medical equipment sometimes health practitioners do make assumptions which could be correct or erroneous. However, at Choithram that is not the situation as premium is placed on diagnosis, x-ray results and other tests to determine the right types of treatments to administer.
The welfare of patients is of primary importance to the Management of the hospital which is why it is a laid down policy that particular food stuffs are served based on the type of ailment that the patients are suffering from and they are served four times a day.
Prior to the corona virus outbreak the hospital used to offer members of the public free screening during periods referred to as camping and at certain times various teams of German doctors and other medical practitioners will be administering treatments, free of charge. This opportunity availed many the opportunity to gain access to qualitative medical attention. It has helped to demystify the notion the Choithram Memorial Hospital is just for the noveaux rich as the less privileged are considered as well. To say the hospital is for the rich is simply because of the state of the country’s economy rendering many incapable to pay for good treatment. But it must be noted that good things do go with prices and it is okay to derive value for money.
It is only hoped that in the post-corona era this treatment by German doctors will resume.
Patients’ details are well documented and are treated with utmost confidentiality. Security measures are quite in place with rigid implementation of visiting hours.
The hospital has high quality drugs that it administers to patients on a daily basis and they have been proven to be very efficacious in treatments.
Indeed, it has been acknowledged that Choithram Memorial Hospital is among the decent and best medical facilities in the country.
