The interim management committee of the University of Ghana Medical Centre (UGMC) has announced the commencement of operations by the health facility.
However, the facility in the interim will open for referrals of out-patient services (OPD) arriving from other health facilities.
This was announced by the interim management set up by the government to ensure the operation of the facility at a press conference held at the premises of the facility in Accra yesterday.
Dr Anarfi Asamoah-Baah, the chairman of the interim management committee, pointed out that the hospital “is meant to be the highest referral centre in the country and the teaching hospitals are expected to refer cases to this facility.”
“It is important that this facility is not swamped by conditions that can be managed in other facilities,” he added.
Dr Baah disclosed that the core business of the facility is to train health professionals of the highest level and the facilityoffers a range of specialised services like dermatology, ophthalmology and ear, nose and throat (ENT) services.
He, however, indicated that the health facility has not started its full operations as intended, adding, “As a normal practice, in such a sophisticated facility you will need to build up first so that you can test all your systems. We just installed some of the equipment and even though they are working, they have not been tested on patients so we need to make sure we don’t expose too many patients at the same time things that may create problems that we may not able to address.”
He promised that the facility will be run differently from the existing systems pertaining in other medical facilities.
“Consistently, we’ve been advised by different people that ‘don’t make this like Korle-Bu, so we are very keen that we establish a different culture. A culture that makes this place patient-friendly, that the patient comes first, a culture that is patient-centered where health workers have the right attitude and the right motivation to provide the highest level of services,” Dr Baah reiterated.
The interim Chief Executive Officer of the UG Medical Centre, Dr Darius Osei, indicated that the second phase of the facility will be completed in the next few months.
“It will take us about 18 months to finish phase two and another six months to ensure that it is fully operational. There are going to be other facilities that will be required, however, they will kick in when we get there,” he assured.
By Abigail Owiredu-Boateng