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Pres inaugurates 120-bed Bekwai Municipal Hospital

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has inaugurated the 120-bed Bekwai Municipal Hospital to provide good health care for the people of Bekwai and its surrounding towns.

The 22.3 million euro hospital has been furnished with modern equipment in its various facilities including an Accident and Emergency Unit, mortuary, kitchen, laundry, Central Sterile Services Department, and X-ray and Ultrasound Unit.

Other facilities included staff accommodation, Out-Patient Department; Eye, Dental, Ear, Nose and Throat clinics; a laboratory, four operation theatres, and administrative offices.

At a durbar of chiefs and people of Bekwai, the President said the completion of the facility was “further evidence of government’s commitment to continue with major infrastructural projects that were inherited from the previous government so that expected socio-economic benefit can be enjoyed by all”.

He said, “Having stalled in 2013, due to lack of fund, [the hospital needed to be completed, so] government, through the dynamic Minister of Health, successfully negotiated for funding from United Kingdom Export Fund for the completion of the silverwares, procurement of the three-year warranty period and training of required personnel for the operation of the hospital.”

Nana Akufo-Addo indicated that the government was committed to improving access to essential and quality healthcare services through the provision of the necessary health infrastructure, equipment and logistics, including the deployment of appropriate technology and that it was part of the government’s drive to attain universal health coverage.

He urged the health ministry to continue to maintain the government’s agenda of building a robust, resilient and sustainable health system for current and future generations.

Nana Akufo-Addo charged the hospital administrators to embrace a culture of maintaining the hospital in order to keep the facility intact for a very long time.

The Minister of Health, Kwaku Agyeman Manu, said the President deserved another term in office for his commitment to improve healthcare in the country.

According to him, his proactiveness during the COVID-19 era was impressive, which has earned the country the third spot in the global ranking of COVID-19 response.

He encouraged the public to continue to adhere to the COVID-19 protocols, which include the wearing of nose masks, sanitising and washing of hands as well as observance of social distancing as the virus was still hanging around the environment.

Mr Agyemang Manu observed that most churches, funeral grounds and other meeting places had stopped observing the protocols, so he pleaded that they begin observing all the protocols because the second wave of the virus in Europe and America had been very serious because thousands of people were being killed by virus every day.

The Chief of Bekwai, Nana Osei Kwadwo ll, noted that the history behind the facility dated way back to the era of the first President of the country, Dr Kwame Nkrumah, and so the completion of it at the time of President Akufo-Addo was fulfilling to him.

He appealed to the government to help complete the other hospital projects at Jacobu and Amansie Central, when they got another chance to lead the country for the next four years.

The President wrapped up his four-day working tour of the Ashanti Region by opening a Technical and Vocational Education and Training centre at the Methodist Technical Institute at Kwadaso.

He also inspected the ongoing construction works on the Creative Arts School, also at Kwadaso.

A contractor from Golden Mainland Ghana Limited, Mr Edward Ashong, disclosed work on the school was way ahead of time.

FROM KINGSLEY E.HOPE, BEKWAI

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