The Minister of Health, Kwaku Agyeman-Manu, says government will no longer expand existing nursing training schools in the country, apart from the specialised ones, because of lack of budget line for the provision of infrastructure in those schools.
He said the government would not commit to establishing new nursing training schools as the country currently has 85 schools and it (the country) has exceeded the World Health Organisation standard of one nurse to 1,000 patients ratio needed for improving healthcare delivery in the country.
The Minister was addressing a durbar of chiefs and people at Kumawu in the Ashanti Region, in honour of the President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, on the last day of his three-day working visit to some parts of the region.
According to Mr Agyeman-Manu, the government was committed to quality healthcare delivery in the country, and so it was working tirelessly toward completing six new hospitals at Tepa, Sewua, Konongo, Kumawu, Fomena and Boaman, all in the Ashanti Region.
He noted that the Ashanti Region was the most deprived region in terms of health facilities and so, the completion of those hospitals would help improve on the deficit.
The paramount chief of Kumawu, Barimah Sarfo Tweneboa Kodua lV, lauded the President for the introduction of the Free Senior High School and other flagship programmes that were all helping to improve on education, agriculture and other aspects of the economy.
He urged the government to do well to improve and provide more infrastructure for the town, which included the road networks, water, education and health, among others.
The President on the last day of his tour inspected the Kumawu District Hospital project which has been stalled for some time now, and also met and interacted with the students of Tweneboa Kodua Senior High School.
President Akufo-Addo also visited Drobonso in Sekyere Afram Plains where he inaugurated a plywood production factory ran by Miro Forestry Company Limited under the One District One Factory programme.
He also addressed a durbar of chiefs and people at Drobonso, where he promised to expand electricity and water to other communities in the area, and provide other necessary infrastructure to the people.
The chief of Drobonso, Nana Dwamena Dankwa Dwebisiaw appealed to the President to help retool the police in the area, to enable them to intensify patrol in the area, as he attributed the rampant armed robberies on the Kumawu-Drobonso highway to lack of logistics.
The President and his entourage earlier met with the chiefs of Asokore and Effiduase in the Sekyere East District.
FROM KINGSLEY E.HOPE AND FAUSTINA, KUMAWU
