Pharmaceutical complex takes off at KATH

A Groundbreaking ceremony has been performed at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital(KATH) in Kumasi for the construction of a four-storey pharmacy complex for the teaching hospital.

Estimated at GH¢43 million, the project is being funded entirely from the Internally Generated Funds (IGF) of the hospital derived from its Drug Revolving Fund.

Phase One

The project is expected to be executed in three phases. The phase one has been designed to ensure that it can be used for the delivery of pharmaceutical services, even before the other two phases are completed.

It will cover the completion of substructure and the framed structure for the first, second, third and fourth floors, including roofing. Also to be completed under this phase is the ground floor.

The complex will have a warehouse, compounding or production unit, packing and raw materials room, as well as loading and offloading bays.

The rest will include changing or quarantine rooms, washrooms, lift well/duct and external works including driveway and drains.

Other facilities: Total Parenteral Nutrition Unit, Conference Room and Drug Information and Pharmacovigilance Unit will also be completed under this phase. The idea is to make the building useful right from the first phase.

Permanent solution

At the ceremony, the Chief Executive Officer of the KATH, Professor Otchere Addai-Mensah, said the project signified a transformative step in the delivery of specialist pharmaceutical services and health care in the Ashanti Region and beyond.

In attendance were some members of the KATH Board, regional directors of health services, a representative from the Pharmaceutical Society of Ghana, and some staff of the hospital.

"This is a project that is going to solve the age-old problem of lack of adequate and centralised space for the management of pharmaceutical products to enhance efficiency and other ancillary facilities for the provision of quality pharmaceutical services," he emphasised.

He said beyond its functionality, the project was a testament to KATH's collective determination to meeting the challenges in healthcare delivery.

"As we break ground today, let us remember that this is not just about brick and mortar, it is about building a healthier tomorrow," he noted, and that its completion would ensure every patient who walks through the doors of KATH receives timely, comprehensive and convenient care.

The CEO commended the past and current boards, both chaired by Ambassador Nana Effah-Apenteng, for instituting far-reaching interventions that have helped to revitalise pharmaceutical service and operations at the hospital.