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Commissioning of Phase II
The President of the Republic of Ghana, His Excellency, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has thanked the staff and management of the UGMC as well as all health workers in Ghana for their contributions towards the successful management of the COVID - 19 pandemic as well as for their resilience in the fight against the disease in spite of the deficits in Ghana's healthcare system with regard to the management of emergencies and complex diseases.
The President made these remarks whilst delivering the key-note address at the commissioning of Phase II of the UGMC Project on June 17, 2022.
In his address, President Akufo- Addo revealed that apart from Phase II enabling the activation of several specialty and sub-specialty clinics at UGMC to ease the pressure at Korle - Bu and the Greater - Accra Regional Hospitals, the other value of the second phase, was the establishment and implementation of an investment and business module to catapult the facility into a self-sustaining entity over a five-year period.”
He lauded the Israeli government for assisting the government of Ghana to secure the $267 million loan needed to complete both Phases I and II of the Project stating that this signified the strong and productive relationship between the two countries.
The Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ghana, Prof Nana Aba Appiah - Amfo noted in her remarks that the University was proud to be associated with the UGMC. " The entire University Community "witnessed with admiration, the pivotal role played by the Centre in the management of people infected with Covid-19, particularly those who were critically ill", she said.
Prof. Appiah- Amfo revealed that the University was strengthening existing collaborations with the Centre in line with the key strategic objectives of her tenure which included the reinvigoration of impactful research as well the development of technology-driven and robust processes in teaching and learning. She encouraged the management of the UGMC to establish and strengthen collaborations with internal and external partners to promote the Centre's visibility and to ensure that it made a "significant impact on health infrastructure and delivery in West Africa and beyond".
The Minister of Health, Honourable Kwaku Agyemang Manu stated in his remarks that Phase II had equipped with a commercial morgue and a mini-medical hotel among other services. He
indicated that the full operationalization of the UGMC would help to solve the frequent travels abroad by a section of the Ghanaian public, improve the management of medical emergencies as well as improve geographical access to quality healthcare for patients. He urged the management of the Centre to ensure that it was well maintained in the coming years.
The Cultural Attache of the Israel embassy Ms. Ayelet Levin- Karp who represented the ambassador of Israel, congratulated the entire UGMC team and stated that the completion of the UGMC Project together with the right collaborations, would ultimately make Ghana a leader in healthcare across the West African sub-region.
The CEO of the UGMC, Dr Darius Osei his address stated that Phase II additions included the
activation of 42 Specialist and sub-specialist clinics; activation of the 2nd biggest Cardiothoracic Surgery Centre in Ghana; the biggest ICU in Ghana, provision of Angiogram, MRI, Dental and ENT services; activation of Oncology, Neurosurgery/ Neurology wards; a Paediatric Surgery Unit; the Assisted Reproductive Technology Centre; the construction of an 8-unit apartment for critical staff the construction of a Biohazard waste treatment building; construction of a waste dumpster shed; completion of Private Wards as well as the purchase of numerous advanced equipment for the MTSC and for other specialized units for the Centre.
He added that the completion of the Project signified the completion of all three focal areas of the Centre which comprised the Clinical Services Section, the Medical Training and Simulation Centre ( MTSC) and the Medical and Scientific Research Centre (MSRC).
Dr. Osei said that whilst the MTSC commenced training of both pre-service health professional students and practising professionals to learn various skills or upgrade themselves in a realistic but risk-free environment through the use of cutting-edge computer-based simulations in 2019, the MSRC had also commenced operations since 2020 and had already been involved in six clinical trials.
With regard to the Clinical Services section, Dr Osei indicated that the UGMC had a core mandate of providing specialist and sub-specialist care to patients upon referral from secondary and other lower levels secondary facilities but was also open to walk-in clients in need of consultant or specialist care.
He also revealed that full operationalization of the Centre had naturally led to an increase in patients with various disease conditions and vulnerabilities and so a separate unit to manage infectious diseases on the premises of the Centre had become an immediate need for the UGMC. He, therefore, appealed to the government and philanthropists to assist the Centre in the construction of a 50 - bed separate infectious disease unit to accommodate patients with highly infectious diseases like COVID- 19.
Dr. Osei added that other pressing needs of the Centre included the construction of a helipad to assist in the lifting and management of trauma cases, the construction of a clinical trials unit within the premises to assist the Research Centre to come up with more local content research as well as the need for more housing units at the Centre to accommodate staff involved in critical care management to enable emergency cases to be promptly attended to.
President Akufo- Addo was assisted by Honorable Agyemang Manu and Dr. Osei to unveil the plaque that commemorated the completion of Phase II of the UGMC Project.
The chairperson for the commissioning event was the Board Chair of the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, Ambassador Nana Effah-Appenteng.