The President of the Republic, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, on Sunday, 18th August 2019, day 2 of his 2-day tour of the Upper West Region, commissioned the $52 million 160-bed Upper West Regional Hospital.
The Upper West Regional Hospital is part of the “Ghana Hospital Project” awarded by the Government of Ghana, in 2008, and executed by Euroget De-Invest s.a of Egypt. The Project involves the design, construction and equipping of one (1) Military Hospital, two (2) Regional Hospitals, and six (6) District Hospitals in Ghana, at a project cost of US$ 339million.
It will be recalled that the Government of the 2nd President of the 4th Republic, His Excellency John Agyekum Kufuor, signed an MoU with Euroget s.a. for the construction of the hospitals in April 2008, gave Cabinet approval for the commencement of the project on 29th October 2008, with parliamentary approval received on 12th November 2008.
The hospitals under the Project included the 500-Kumasi Military Hospital; the 100-bed Madina District Hospital; the 60-bed Tepa District Hospital; the 60-bed Twifo Praso District Hospital; the 60-bed Konongo District Hospital Project; the 60-bed Salaga District Hospital; the 60-bed Nsawkaw District Hospital; and the 250-bed Kumasi Sewua Regional Hospital.
The site for the Upper West Regional Hospital was the first to commence construction in August 2010, after designs and value for money audit were approved. Various challenges, however, delayed the completion of the hospital projects.
It is expected that the Ga East Hospital at Kwabenya would be completed handed over in December 2019. Tepa Hospital would be completed and handed over in April 2020, with Nsawkaw Hospital also to be completed and handed over by June 2020.
Both Konongo and Kumasi Sewua Hospitals will be completed by November 2020, with the Salaga and Twifo Praso being completed and handed over in 2020.
The Wa Regional Hospital is designed with several departments including an administration; Out Patient Department (OPD); Physiotherapy unit; Pharmacy; Radiology Unit; Laboratory; Surgical Suite (Operation Dep.); Emergency & Casualty Unit; Burns Unit; Central Sterile Supply Department; Medical Gases production unit; Obstetrics & Gynecology (Maternity and Child Health); Ambulance Station; Mortuary; Medical Waste Department; Relatives Hostel; and 20 Staff Housing Units.
It is equipped with modern medical equipment, key among them include X- Ray Machines (stationed & mobile); CT Scan; Mammography; Ultrasound; Operation Theater fully equipped; Medical Gases; and Patient Monitors
The facility is also fitted with a complete Local Area Network integrated with a Data Centre; Hospital Information Management Systems (HIMS); Computerized Maintenance Management System (CMMS); and Internet Connectivity.
The total cost for the New Upper West Regional Hospital is $52 million.
Speaking at the event, President Akufo-Addo described the commissioning of the hospital as the “highlight of my tour of this Region.”
The completion and commissioning of hospital, he explained is a good comment about Ghana.
“This project has passed through the hands of four successive presidents of Ghana. It was initiated and begun under the 2nd President of the 4th Republic, His Excellency John Agyekum Kufuor; it was continued by his successor, His Excellency the late John Evans Atta-Mills; and his successor, His Excellency John Dramani Mahama; and it has been commissioned by me, the 5th President of the 4th Republic. This is a good statement about our country, of our institutions, and of our governance,” the President said.
It is this continuity, President Akufo-Addo added, that makes Ghana an attractive destination for foreign investment and foreign interest in Ghana, because agreements struck by one government are respected by successive governments.
Whilst applauding the Egyptian company for the construction of the hospitals, the President stated that “the social infrastructure that we need to develop and establish in our country continues apace, the modernization of our country continues apace. And, it is important that we recognize how significant it is that we are able to develop this kind of infrastructure.”
The President reinforced the call made by the Minister for Health, Hon. Kwaku Agyemang Manu, about the need to strengthen and embrace the culture of maintenance, and urged administrators of the hospital to ensure that it does not fall into a state of disrepair.