The Hohoe Municipal Hospital will soon be upgraded to a Regional Hospita, the Minister of Health, Kweku Agyeman-Manu has announced.
The Minister who announced this during his tour of the Municpality told the Chiefs and people that cabinet has given the approval for Hohoe to become a Regional Hospital.
The Minister, since Monday, June 10, 2019, has been touring the Volta Region to familiarise himself with operations in the region.
His visit is part of a series of visits from experts from the Ministry to assess the current facility to see how the upgrade can by fully implemented.
He stressed that government was committed to ensuring universal health coverage, hence the upgrade will attract more specialists and employ more health personnel to ensure quality services.
The 62 year-old Hohoe Municipal Hospital is a 178 bed capacity with 467 staff, including 107 casual staff.
The Hospital according to the Municipal Director of Health Services, Dr Felix Doh has the highest Out Patient Department (OPD) attendance in the region which stands at about 112,000 annually.
The Hospital’s location,which is central to the Oti and Volta Regions makes it a major referral point especially from the Oti enclave.
The Medical Superintendent, Dr. Pius Mensah who welcomed the elevation said his team will do everything in their power to ensure the upgrade is worth it.
He however complained about inadequate acccomodation for staff and specialists for other health services.
He also complained that wages for the 107 casual staff was having a huge toll on their Internally Generated Funds.
Responding to the concerns, the Health Minister assured that with the hospital’s new status most of their concerns will be addressed.
He however encouraged them to psyche themselves and begin to operate like a Regional hospital.
“That way, the mental transformation will ensure a seamless infrastructural, personnel and services transformation”the Minister added.
From Fred Duodu, Hohoe (k.duodu@yahoo.com)