The Effects of Resource of Flow the Princess Marie Louise Hospital on the Length of Stay of Malnourished Children

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Date

1993-06

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University of Ghana

Abstract

The Princess Marie Louise Hospital (PML) caters for malnourished tr children suffering from Kwashiorkor, Marasmus or Marasmic Kwashiorkor with food and drug therapy. All cases admitted are treated with free food nutrients. In addition, drugs which are used as supplements are however paid for by the caretakers. The main problem that the research seeks to investigate is the frequent inadequacy of its essential supplies namely, food nutrients and drugs, the consumption of which is believed to have a positive relationship with the rate of recovery of malnourished children depending on the quality and quantity provided. It is therefore hypothesised that, given adequate and timely supply of essential supplies, the length of stay of malnourished children will be inversely related to the flow of the essential items to the hospital. The results of the study revealed that the average length of stay at the hospital was 3 5 days, and that mortality among malnourished children averaged between 12 to 15 deaths per month. However, it was realised that most of the cases which resulted in deaths were short stays ranging between 1 and 6 -kdays after admission.j*, The implication was that, the conditions of the children either worsened to their terminal stages before they were admitted to the hospital, or that, they were presented to the hospital at a time when very little could be done medically. Information processed from data gathered at the kitchen revealed that there were very wide shortfalls in the records of food items required and those available for consumption. The erratic nature of foodstuffs supplied to the kitchen made it impossible for proper planning and management.)^ Such irregularities which resulted in the malfunctioning of the kitchen further forced the frequent substitution of the meals served without any consideration of the food energy generated from the substitutes. The study further revealed that though food and drugs could easily be quantified as the most important ingredients influencing the rate of recovery of malnourished children at the PML., other factors which were not easily quantifiable like the medical care, nursing care and the influence of individual caretakers were very important influential factors on the length of stay of malnourished children.,

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Thesis (MBA) - University of Ghana, 1993.

Keywords

Princess Marie Louise Hospital, of Malnourished Children

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