The hospital is expected to commence full operations in three months’ time
Officials of the Ministry of Health and the Ghana Health Service (GHS), have, at a technical handing over ceremony at Somanya in the Eastern Region on Tuesday, received the keys to a modern fully completed, equipped, and furnished healthcare facility from the contractors, Vamed Engineering Gh. Ltd.
Officials of the construction firm handed the keys of the facility to Mr. Kwame Safo who is Head of Capital Investment and Project Management Unit (CIPMU) at the Ministry of Health who also handed it over to Dr. Ebo Hammond, Director of Health Administration and Support Services at the Ghana Health Service with Dr. Winfred Ofosu, Eastern Regional Director of Health Services receiving it and handing it over to Dr. Irina Offei, Yilo Krobo Municipal Health Director.
Eastern Regional Director of Health Services, Dr. Winfred Ofosu said the facility would go a long way to complement health delivery services in the region.
The facility equipped with modern equipment is expected to provide modern healthcare delivery to residents in the Yilo Krobo Municipality and beyond as well as complementing the work of existing healthcare facilities in the municipality and its immediate surrounding.
The regional director who expressed satisfaction at the project was hopeful that it will offer the best of quality health care to patrons.
“We think that the contractor has done a good job and we’re happy with what we’ve seen and we think that the team that will be put in place here to manage the facility and the staff who’ll work here will also be diligent to provide quality health services which will make the people who receive health service here satisfied,” he said.
The facility is the first major hospital in the Yilo Krobo Municipality and Dr. Winfred Ofosu believes this will largely complement the provision of healthcare needs of the people.
According to him, the “strategic placement” of the facility would ensure that it provides healthcare services to various adjoining districts and communities.
“It’s certainly going to complement [health delivery] because Yilo Krobo has no district hospital…the population here is quite huge and then we have nearby districts like Okere District which has no hospital and the people are close by so all these people will be utilizing this facility,” he noted.
Officials of the Ministry of Health, as part of the ceremony, inspected the various facilities including the laboratory, administration, male and female medical wards, surgical wards, maternity ward, and NICU, two operating theaters, public health unit, ancillary facilities, a standby generator, waste disposal system, etc.
With the need to ensure proper maintenance of the facility being stressed severally during the ceremony, the regional director of health services said, “there is the need to put in place a strong maintenance team”, adding that this would be made of clinical engineers to over from the contractors who would maintain the facility for the next two years.
Dr. Ebo Hammond, Director of Health Administration and Support Services at the GHS, while describing the facility as a “great national asset for the indigenes” with state of the art equipment, however, said there are efforts to provide additional facilities such as regular water supply and more staff accommodation for the hospital.
Though there is limited accommodation provided for emergency staff, he said preparations were underway to ensure extra accommodation for regular staff in the future.
Municipal Chief Executive for Yilo Krobo, Ebenezer Tetteh Kupualor expressed his profound gratitude to the President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo for honoring his promise to provide a befitting hospital for the people of Yilo Krobo.
The hospital is expected to commence full operations in three months’ time.