The President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has revealed that the completion of the University of Ghana Medical Centre (UGMC) by his administration was not easy, as people may be thinking.
“It is no secret that my government had to navigate several hurdles to ensure successful completion of the project, despite it going beyond its planned schedule,” he said.
President Akufo-Addo was speaking at the premises of the hospital last Friday, during a ceremony to commission the phase II of the UGMC.
DETAILS OF PHASE II
He said it includes 42 Specialist and Subspecialist clinics, a Cardiothoracic Surgery Center and a Cardiac Catheterization Lab.
The new phase of the centre includes; an eight-unit apartment for critical staff, a biohazard waste treatment building, a waste dumpster shed, an oncology ward, neurosurgery with neurology ward and an intensive care unit.
It also has an assisted reproductive technology centre, private wards, a paediatric surgery unit and provides MRI and dental services.
The President said an Israeli bank provided the Ghanaian government with a grant of US $217 million to construct the facility and added that the gesture testified to the strong relations between Ghana and Israel.
“The University of Ghana Medical Centre, which is a 617-bed medical centre is a turn-key project whose construction commenced in April 2013 and was scheduled to be completed in March 2016.”
MAINSTAY
President Akufo-Addo pointed out that the University of Ghana Medical Centre’s mainstay was to deliver healthcare, adding that the facility played a pivotal role in managing complicated referrals from other hospitals in the country.
He said the facility also has provision for walk-in patients who seek specialist or consultant attention. He added that the facility provided health services in the areas of trauma and orthopedics, urology, ear, nose and throat care, cardiology, dermatology, accident and emergency services and pain management among others.
In addition to the aforementioned services, President Akufo-Addo said there was a medical training and simulation centre, which served as a national facility for the training of health professionals across the country.
“It is equipped with state-of-the-art equipment capable of simulating various disease conditions to enable our health professionals to have comprehensive hands-on experience,” he said.
COMMITMENT
According to the President, the second phase of the health facility includes the investment and business models of the centre to make the facility self-sustaining over a five-year period, and charged the management to ensure it yielded the necessary returns.
President Akufo-Addo said his administration was committed to providing Ghanaians with befitting health facilities and providing world-class health care to all residents in Ghana.
He expressed the government’s commitment to ensure the availability of the right skilled staff to deliver services at the UGMC.
UGMC CEO
The Chief Executive of the UGMC, Dr Darius Kofi Osei, said the UGMC now had three focal areas; the Medical Simulation and Training Centre, Clinical Services Section and Medical and Scientific Research Centre.
Despite the steady development of the UGMC, he said the facility would, in the future, need a helipad to assist in the evacuation of trauma cases to boost efforts in medical tourism.
He said the UGMC would also need a radiotherapy centre for cancer treatment, a 50-bed infectious disease centre, accommodation for specialists and other critical staff, and official vehicles for the centre.
“In August 2019, with much pride, we operationalised our cutting-edge Medical Simulation and Training Centre, which is the biggest training centre in West Africa. This Training Centre is a nationally recognised multi-disciplinary academic centre and is committed to achieving excellence in medical education through the use of high-quality and cutting-edge computer-based simulations
“Our 1000-bed Clinical Services Section of the UGMC is committed to the promotion of favourable health outcomes through innovative, customer-centred, cost-effective and high-quality processes. We are currently running almost 40 specialty and sub-specialty level clinics from a humble beginning of running three general service OPD Clinics,” he said.
