President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo on Friday commissioned the 60-bed Twifo Atti-Morkwaa District Hospital, located at Twifo Praso, in the Central Region.
The project, initiated by former President John Agyekum Kufuor in 2008 as part of the ‘Ghana Hospitals Project’, is the fifth such hospitals commissioned by President Akufo-Addo. This follows the opening of the Upper West Regional Hospital, in Wa, the Ga East Municipal Hospital, in Accra, the Ahafo Ano Municipal Hospital in Tepa, and the Tain District Hospital in Nsawkaw.
The “Ghana Hospital Project” involves the design, construction and equipping of one military hospital, two regional hospitals, and six district hospitals, at a project cost of US$339 million. It falls under the broader objective of providing infrastructure for the delivery of effective healthcare to the citizenry.
Other hospitals being constructed under this project are the 250-bed regional hospital in Sewua, in the Bosomtwe District; the 60-bed district hospital in Salaga; and the 60-bed district hospital in Konongo. They are all expected to be commissioned by the end of the first quarter of 2021.
Twifo Praso hospital
The Twifo Praso hospital has been constructed at a cost of US$36.6 million and has been designed with several departments, including administration; outpatient department (OPD); physiotherapy unit; pharmacy; radiology; laboratory; surgical suite (operation dep.); emergency & casualty; and obstetrics & gynecology (maternity and child health).
The rest are central sterile supply department; ambulance station; inpatient wards – 100 bed capacity; staff dining; kitchen & outdoor cooking area; medical gases production unit; laundry; mortuary; medical waste department; general stores; maintenance department; power station; relatives’ hostel; 14 staff housing units; and a mini market.
Additionally, the hospital has been equipped with modern medical equipment, such as x-ray machines, ultrasound machines, fully equipped operating theatre, medical gases, and patient monitors. It also has a medical waste treatment plant, a power station, a water treatment plant, a central air conditioning system and an anaerobic sewerage treatment plant.
Quality healthcare
To the chiefs and people of Twifo Praso, President Akufo-Addo reiterated his commitment to improving access to essential and quality health services through the provision of the necessary health infrastructure, equipment and logistics, including the deployment of appropriate technology, as part of our drive to attaining Universal Health Coverage (UHC).
He urged administrators of the hospital to embrace and strengthen the culture of maintenance.
“This edifice has been put up at a great cost to our nation, and we should be in the position, some ten years down the line, to see it still in good condition. It should not fall in the ways in which several institutions like this in Ghana have gone. The leadership of this facility must set the example for its periodic and constant maintenance, and will be held accountable for this,” he added.
President Akufo-Addo assured the gathering that the goal of his government is to establish a strong, accessible healthcare system of world class quality, which will guarantee the health and well-being of our people.
“Since my assumption of office in 2017, we have, in each year, provided financial clearance for the recruitment of 90,696 permanent and temporary health workers. With ‘Four More For Nana and the NPP’, we will do even more for you,” he added.