An ultra-modern oxygen plant constructed at the cost of 480,000 euros for the 37 Military Hospital in Accra was yesterday commissioned by the Chief of Staff, Mrs Akosua Frema Osei-Opare.
The 50 Newton Meter Cube plant has the capacity to dock 10 cylinders at a time, as compared to the previous 20 Normal Meter Cube Linde Oxygen production plant installed in 2009.
The new oxygen plant would enable the hospital to meet the highest standards of safety, reliability and efficiency to serve the National Ambulance Service, medical reception stations among others.
Commissioning the plant, Mrs Osei-Opare said the facility marked a stride in the country’s quest to achieve quality and efficient health care delivery.
She noted that the frequent breakdown of the old plant nearly caused a national emergency as the interim backup plan to supplement oxygen supply, cost GH¢80,640 per week.
Additionally, the Chief of Staff disclosed that a new multipurpose X-ray machine had been procured for the hospital together with a Computed Tomography (CT) scan while a Fluoproscopy Machine was expected to arrive in the country.
She called on corporate entities and benevolent individuals to support institutions to compliment the efforts of government at improving the lives of Ghanaians.
Mrs Frema Osei-Opare commended the Military High Command and the hospital authorities for their perseverance to get the best for their patients.
She assured the hospital management of government’s support to address the challenges hindering the full implementation of Universal Health Care.
Brigadier General Micheal Akwasi Yeboah Agyapong, the Commander of the hospital, said the old oxygen plant affected the operations of the hospital and other sections of the facility that depended on it for refill, saying “the unfortunate circumstance virtually gave staff including myself very frequent panic attacks.”
He noted that the replacement would enable the hospital to deliver on its mandate and urged all stakeholders to come on board to raise the facility to the desired standards.
Brig. Gen. Agyapong appealed to government to add Magnetic Resonance Imaging Machine to the list of needs of the hospital in addition to the phase 3 expansion.
He lauded the government and the Military High Command for taking pragmatic steps to provide equipments for the facility.
Present at the ceremony were the Minister of Defence, Mr Dominic Nitiwul and Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Lieutenant General Obed Boamah Akwa.
BY ALLIA NOSHIE
