President Nana Akufo-Addo opening the hospital
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, on Wednesday, 30 September 2020, opened the 60-bed Ahafo Ano Municipal Hospital located in Tepa, Ashanti Region.
This hospital, initiated by former President John Agyekum Kufuor in 2008, as part of the ‘Ghana Hospitals Project’, is the third such Hospital inaugurated by President Akufo-Addo following the opening of the Upper West Regional Hospital, Wa, and the Ga East Municipal Hospital, Accra, which is now one of the country’s foremost COVID-19 treatment centres.
This hospital, according to the President, has been long-awaited in Tepa, and it is good that today, the demand for a municipal hospital of quality has been realised, as residents and surrounding health facilities will now gain access to improved healthcare from the Ahafo Ano Municipal Hospital.
The “Ghana Hospital Project” involves the design, construction and equipping of one (1) Military Hospital, two (2) Regional Hospitals, and six (6) District Hospitals in Ghana, at a project cost of US$339 million.
It falls under the broader objective of providing infrastructure for the delivery of effective healthcare to the citizenry.
Other hospitals being constructed under this project are the 250-bed Regional Hospital in Sewua, Kumasi, Ashanti Region; the 6-bed District Hospital in Twifo Praso, Central Region; 60-bed District Hospital at Nsawkaw, Bono-East Region; 60-bed District Hospital in Salaga, Savanna Region; 60-bed District Hospital in Konongo, Ashanti Region; and the 500-bed Military Hospital at Afari, again, in the Ashanti Region.
All of these projects, the President stressed, are expected to be opened before the end of this year.
The Ahafo Ano Municipal Hospital has been constructed at a cost of US$36 million, and has been designed with several departments including an administration block, outpatient department (OPD), physiotherapy unit, pharmacy, radiology, laboratory, surgical suite (operation dep.), emergency & casualty; and obstetrics & gynaecology (maternity and child health).
The rest are central sterile supply department, ambulance station, inpatient wards – 100-bed capacity; staff dining room, kitchen & outdoor cooking area; medical gases production unit, laundry, mortuary, medical waste department, general stores, maintenance department, power station, relatives’ hostel, 20 staff housing units and a mini-market.
Additionally, the Hospital has been equipped with modern medical equipment such as x-ray machines, ultrasound machines, a fully-equipped operating theatre, medical gases, and patient monitors.
It also has a medical waste treatment plant, a power station, a water treatment plant, a central air conditioning system and an anaerobic sewerage treatment plant.
To the chiefs and people of Tepa, President Akufo-Addo reiterated his commitment to improving access to essential and quality health services through the provision of the necessary health infrastructure, equipment and logistics, including the deployment of appropriate technology, as part of our drive to attaining Universal Health Coverage (UHC).
He urged administrators of the hospital to embrace and strengthen the culture of maintenance.
“This edifice has been put at great cost to our nation, and we should be in the position, some ten years down the line, to see it still in good condition.
“It should not fall in the ways in which several institutions like this in Ghana have gone.
“The leadership of this facility must set the example for its periodic and constant maintenance, and will be held accountable for this,” he added.