First Lady inaugurates renovated Ussher Polyclinic

The Ussher Polyclinic, located in Jamestown in Accra, which serves a population of more than 145,000, has been renovated to enhance service delivery to its clients.

The renovation involved the construction of a new surgical theatre, provision of additional wards for patients, a staff working area, a waiting area for patrons and other modern medical facilities and equipment.

The rehabilitation work was facilitated by the charity organisation of the First Lady, Mrs Rebecca Akufo-Addo, the Rebecca Foundation, with support from the GCB Bank Limited.

To ensure uninterrupted clinical service, reduce patient waiting time and also help the facility save cost and power usage, the electrical system of the facility was also rewired.

Donation

On behalf of the Rebecca Foundation, Mrs Akufo-Addo also donated hospital equipment and medical supplies, including surgical consumables, beds and dental equipment to the polyclinic.

The occasion was also used to present an ambulance to the Odododiodoo Constituency under the one-constituency,one-ambulance programme, to the excitement of the gathering.

The ambulance is fully equipped with life-saving facilities.

Little renovation

The clinic, which caters for majority of residents of the Ashiedu-Keteke sub-metro area in the Greater Accra Region, has seen very little renovation since its establishment in 1963.

Before the renovation, the building was dilapidated with leaking roofs, non-functioning washrooms, inadequate clinical equipment and a generally unwholesome environment that combined to endanger the lives of both staff and patients.

Speaking at the inauguration of the refurbished polyclinic, Mrs Akufo-Addo said although it was the responsibility of every government to provide for the health needs of its people, "no government can do it alone.”

She said globally, the partnership between governments, the private sector and other bodies had and continued to deliver key indicators for good health.

Advocating preventive health care, she urged the public to endeavour to consume nutritional local food, stay fit and undertake regular medical examinations.

Appreciation

The Medical Director of Ussher Polyclinic, Dr Patrick Amo-Mensah, on behalf of the staff and the community, expressed gratitude to the First Lady and GCB Bank.

He said the polyclinic attended to hundreds of out-patient-department (OPD) cases daily.

However, he said, many cases could not be managed in the facility due to the absence of essential equipment and facilities leading to referrals of cases to the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, the Greater Accra Regional Hospital and other facilities.

The Regional Director of the Ghana Health Services, Dr Charity Sarpong, commended Mrs Akufo-Addo for her dedication towards the improvement of the health sector.

The Managing Director of GCB Ltd, Mr Anselm Ransford Adjetey Sowah, said the renovation of the polyclinic was one of the activities under the bank's corporate social responsibilities on health.

The bank, he said, was committed to contributing to good health and wellbeing of the people under Goal Three of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).