WHO commends Shai-Osudoku District Hospital for maintaining quality standards

At a first glance, the Shai-Osudoku District Hospital located at Ayikuma in the Greater Accra Region seems to be something else, and it can be mistaken for a hotel. The facility presents a relaxing and serene environment with lovely professionals offering quality service delivery.

The hospital’s facilities are architecturally impressive with very vibrant colours which give a welcoming look of its exterior to visitors both from near and far.

For the first time I entered a public health facility, I felt so much at home, relaxed and was not in hurry to leave as usual.

I felt like either getting pregnant or taking ill so I could enjoy the serene, relaxing environment.

Although it sounds absurd, you cannot begrudge me because indeed, the hospital has a state-of-the-art facility with class.

It is not surprising that the World Health Organisation (WHO) has identified the hospital as a possible benchmark for other health facilities in Africa, in terms of infrastructure and service delivery.

While I believe that quality care should be a major factor in choosing a hospital, other details such as location, patients’ rooms, environment among other available facilities should also affect the decision of choice.

Architecturally impressive

Usually, hospitals are not places generally associated with pleasure and not nice to look at, but the Shai-Osudoku District Hospital at Dodowa built in April 2016 is adding up to the new generation of medical facilities changing the face of how a hospital should look like.

In addition to its striking look, the hospital provides a depth of expertise in the spectrum of advanced medical and surgical interventions and comprehensive mix of in-patient and out-patient services.

As a public hospital, the management of the facility has been commended for its sterling performance and innovations, such as setting up an in-house pharmaceutical manufacturing unit that produced basic drugs for the hospital and also implementing a good maintenance schedule that has kept the hospital in good shape.

The facility can also boast exclusive delivery wards where expectant mothers, whose husbands would want to be with them during the delivery process, can do so without invading the privacy of other women.

The hospital has a good sanitary environment with clean hand-wash basins in very good shape and waste bins at vantage points. 

The hospital’s location is safe and convenient for patients and their visitors. It is accessible by public transportation with a convenient parking space.

WHO recognition

The WHO Regional Director for Africa, Dr Matshidiso Moeti, who visited the hospital recently, said the hospital had set a standard that was worth emulating nationwide and in Africa in so far as healthcare delivery outcomes were concerned.

“Apart from its facilities, I observed and admired from a distance the warm reception the health professionals and staff gave to its patrons, particularly the pregnant women. The staff provided their services with smiles and professionalism.

“For me, a greater number of the patrons I met seemed satisfied with the services they received at the hospital,” she stated.

Maternal mortality

The Medical Director of the hospital, Dr Kennedy Brighton, said the facility had declared a zero tolerance for maternal deaths and that through the management’s commitment to the cause, there had been no maternal deaths in the past five years.

He said the commitment to achieving that target saw the hospital recording zero maternal deaths over the years.

He noted that while patient care remained their primary objective, the management also strive to maintain its surroundings.

Inauguration

Former President John Dramani Mahama inaugurated the facility, which is the first modern district hospital to be built under the government’s policy of bringing healthcare delivery to the doorstep of all Ghanaians.

The ultra-modern 120-bed hospital, funded by the Government of the United Kingdom through Barclays PLC at the cost of US$175 dollars, is the first of the six district hospitals being built by the government in selected districts across the country.

The initiative forms part of the government’s agenda of building first-class health facilities in every district to improve access to healthcare delivery across the country.