The Minister of Health, Ms. Sherry Aryittey, has expressed confidence that the construction of the new, 600-bed, University of Ghana Teaching Hospital would be completed by 2015. She said the new facility, costing US$ 217 million, would be the first of its kind in the West African sub-region.
The Minister was speaking to a section of the media after a recent tour of the project site to ascertain progress of work on the Hospital. She was accompanied on the tour by the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ghana, Professor Ernest Aryeetey, and other members of the Project Steering Committee.
Ms. Sherry Aryittey noted that the new teaching hospital, when completed, will result in the delivery of better health services to the entire nation, and the West African sub-region and beyond. She added that the Hospital would augment the training of about one thousand (1,000) doctors within 5 to 7 years, which would help to considerably improve the current doctor-patient ratio of about one doctor to 10,000 patients.
The Minister noted that the new facility would help train medical specialists in all fields, many of whom would be posted to the rural areas which lack doctors. She added that the kind of services that would be offered by products of the new teaching hospital would also help to cut down on the attrition rate of medical personnel in the country.
The Minister also spoke about on-going work to construct regional teaching hospitals in the Volta and Central Regions, and expansion of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology Teaching Hospital, as well as training of doctors and specialists for herbal and other alternative medical practices.
The Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Ernest Aryeetey said the University of Ghana currently was undergoing several changes geared towards the training of professionals for several sectors of the country. He added that the construction of the new teaching hospital is an expression of the University’s commitment to training better professionals for the health delivery sector and assured Ghanaians of better health services upon completion of the Project.
Prof. Aryeetey further noted that the facility would offer opportunity for enhanced clinical work for health professionals in the country and sub-region, adding that the project contracts also offered opportunity for the training of management personnel in Israel.
The $217 million project is located on a 400 acre land behind the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research of the University. It is being funded by a loan facility agreement between the Government of Ghana and the Government of Israel. The Teaching Hospital is being built using the model of the Sheba Medical Centre in Israel.
