President Akufo-Addo inaugurates Bolgatanga Regional Hospital
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has inaugurated phase three of the Bolgatanga Regional Hospital Rehabilitation Project.
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The project, which commenced in 2020, comprises a four-storey 39 apartment flat accommodation for the hospital staff, kitchen, laundry, relatives hostel and Central Sterile Supply Department (CSSD).
The rest are a mortuary block, roads and maintenance works, provision of medical and non-medical equipment as well as installation of other ancillary facilities.
The project which is intended to provide an ultra-modern secondary referral hospital for the region was funded by the Saudi Fund for Development (SFD) at a cost of $52 million.
Additional facilities expected to be executed as part of the fourth phase of the project are a maternity complex, neonatal intensive care unit, surgical unit complex, burns unit complex, hospital maintenance and central stores department.
Health
Inaugurating the project yesterday, President Akufo-Addo said access to quality health care was a fundamental right of every citizen in the country.
The newly constructed staff accommodation block
He stated that it was the responsibility of the government to ensure that in the exercise of such right it was not only theoretical but practical.
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President Akufo-Addo said over the years, the Bolgatanga Regional Hospital had undergone multiple renovations and expansions to meet the growing needs of the people.
He added that most of the facilities had been modernised and transformed to meet the increasing demand.
Health projects
He announced that by the end of the year, a significant number of health projects would be completed, including 11 district hospitals and a polyclinic in the Eastern, Ahafo, Ashanti and Greater Accra regions.
He indicated that the move showed the NPP government’s commitment to universal health coverage by 2030, and ensuring more efficient health care services for the people.
On the Agenda 111 hospital project, President Akufo-Addo, said as of May this year, work was ongoing on 96 district hospitals with overall progress rate of 64 per cent.
He stressed that the construction of two psychiatric hospitals in Kumasi and Tamale were ongoing and would be completed.
To this end, he urged the Ministry of Health to expedite work on the completion of the draft incentive package for health workers for his government’s consideration.
He charged the management of the hospital to institute a well-thought through maintenance plan to ensure the long-term use of the facilities.
The Minister of Health, Bernard Okoe Boye, said with the SFD not only a hospital had been constructed but a centre of excellence with the state-of- the-art facilities to improve health care delivery had been provided
He said the government had already completed more health projects nationwide including hospitals clinics, Community Health Planning and Services (CHPS) compounds and treatment centres to render services to the people.
However, he indicated that maintaining these facilities was as critical as its construction, saying “We urge the staff of these facilities to ensure that they are used wisely and cared for diligently”.
He said the government had made substantial investments in the health infrastructure, and that maintaining them required collective efforts. “Lets us commit ourselves to safeguarding health investments to continue to serve the next generation” he said.
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Employment
Dr Boye stated that complementing the construction of numerous health facilities, the government had so far granted financial clearance for the recruitment of over 200,000 health workers.
That, he stressed, had obviously strengthened the human resource capacity of the health facilities to deliver on their mandate.
He announced that in the coming weeks a new urology and kidney transplant centre at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital to address renal care issues in the country would be inaugurated.
He added that the centre would have more capacity for dialysis services for all the teaching hospitals rendering such services to patients.
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The General Director of Africa Operations, Saudi Fund for Development (SFD), Mohammed Alshammari, said the project marked a significant milestone in their shared commitment to improving access to health care and health outcomes.
He added that the intervention represented their long held belief that all people irrespective of their geographical location deserved access to good and quality health care.
The Saudi Ambassador to Ghana, Sultan Abdul Rahman Aldakhe, in a remark, said the construction of the project was a result of the strong collaboration and cooperation between Ghana and Saudi Arabia spanning many years.
He commended all stakeholders and institutions who contributed in diverse ways towards the completion of the project.
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In a welcome address, the Upper East Regional Minster, Dr Hafiz Bin Salih, said the additional facilities provided to the hospital would significantly enhance the hospital’s capacity to provide specialised care to improve health outcomes in the region.
Writer’s email:gilbert.agbey@graphic.com.gh.