New Eye Centre At KATH Ready Next Month…Staff, Family To Benefit From Special Free Medical Scheme

The new Eye Centre at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) in Kumasi is scheduled to be operational by the end of March this year.

The Eye Unit of the Hospital is expected to move into the new facility and start operations from there, on completion of the project by then.

Prof. Ohene-Adjei, KATH CEO, said the hospital had injected GH¢1.6 million from its Internally Generated Fund (IGF) into the construction of the 50-ward capacity Eye Clinic, with a US$495,000 support from the USAID and the Himalayan Cataract Project of USA.

He disclosed at the opening of a two day End-of-year (2012) Performance Review Workshop of the various directorates of the hospital last Wednesday, that the Ministry of Health was expected to further support the Centre with GH¢680,000.00 towards revolutionising eye care services at the facility, when it becomes fully operational.

The Chief Executive announced that during the year under review, the 950-bed seven storey Maternity and Children’s Block project, initiated in 1976, was finally roofed to mark a significant progress in its construction.

He further announced that the management had instituted a Special Free Medical Scheme for staff and their family members.

Under the scheme, Prof. Ohene-Adjei said, the over 3,500 staff of the hospital and their family members would be assisted by the hospital to bear the cost of health care services that are not covered under the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS).

He said each family of a staff member is entitled health services to the tune of GH¢3,000 under the scheme.

The CEO says management would lay greater emphasis on improving quality of care in the area of maternal and child health, and improve staff attitude, training and welfare this year, announcing further that the hospital’s priorities would be stepping up resource mobilisation drives, enhanced preventive maintenance activities, expand outreach services, and strengthen collaboration with the Ghana Health Service and other partners.

According to him, the hospital had targeted to see 250,482 specialists OPD cases, 89,500 general OPD cases, 45,500 in-patients admissions, 26,000 minor and major surgical operations, 11,000 supervised deliveries and 22,950 physiotherapy services in 2013.

Prof. Ohene-Adjei indicated that management would also embark on the replacement of some aged equipment, and that the acquisition of a new oxygen plant to replace an unreliable one, currently in use, would be prioritised.

He said some new equipment were also expected under the government’s National Medical Equipment Replacement Project, from which the facility had already taken delivery of two mobile digital X-rays, two C-arm monitors, and three colour Dopplers with two sets of probes, among others.

The Administrator called for the commitment of staff of the hospital to make targets and plans achievable for the year.

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