Officials of CHAG and FCDO in front of the HDU
The United Kingdom’s Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) through the Christian Health Association of Ghana (CHAG) has established a new High Dependency Unit (HDU) for the Holy Family Hospital in Berekum, the Bono Region.
The facility which falls under CHAG’s Covid-19 Institutional Capacity Building (CRIB) project is to facilitate the extensive care for severe and critical Covid-19 patients in the region.
FCDO Development Director, Ghana, Elizabeth Cadman, in her opening remarks acknowledged the courage and dedication of health workers, who have battled Covid-19 tirelessly.
She urged the administrator and staff of Holy Family Hospital to raise the standard of healthcare service delivery, by putting the healthcare training they receive under the project to practice.
She also called for diligent maintenance of the equipment at the High Dependency Unit and advised them to work in partnership with local communities and leaders in health promotion.
The Holy Family Hospital HDU
Chief Executive, CHAG, Dr Peter Yeboah, said under the CRIB project, six testing sites have been adequately resourced in the Upper East, Bono, Ashanti, Central and Eastern regions to conduct PCR tests for Covid-19.
“So far a total of 21,158 tests have been conducted in the 40 participating districts of which 4,419 tests were conducted in CHAG facilities using Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) with 1,264 positive cases,” he said.
He added that over 6,000 health workers have been trained and 40 isolation units established.
Dr. Yeboah stressed that CHAG was committed to “harnessing infrastructure, access to social spaces and trusted assets in promoting fruitful partnership towards strengthening our health system to be responsive, robust and resilient.
“I’m delighted to be here today to take part in launching Holy Family Hospital’s High Dependency Unit, dedicated to the treatment of severe Covid-19. This is the second of three High Dependency Units we are supporting through CHAG. We are proud to contribute to this achievement, and prevent unnecessary deaths from the virus,” he added.
Hospital Administrator, Rev. Sister Reena V John, was delighted the facility can now provide extensive care to patients.
She said CHAG’s CRIB Project has brought great relief to the facility managers.
By Jamila Akweley Okertchiri