The Minister of Health, Dr Bernard Okoe Boye, has touted government's achievement in the health sector over the last seven years describing it as unimaginable.
According to him, beyond the numerous interventions put in to ensure access to quality healthcare such as revamping of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), the Zipline Services and the e-pharmacy, the level of investment in the provision of health infrastructure was unmatched in the annals of the country's history.
Dr Okoe Boye who was taking his turn at the weekly Minister's Press Briefing organised by the Ministry of Information in Accra said an audit of the health sector would reveal that the government had invested in a number of hospitals and health facilities.
He noted that apart from government initiating and completing seven district hospitals including, the Dodowa, Fomena, Kumawu and Sekondi-Takoradi district hospitals at $175,000,000.00, a number of other projects were also ongoing.
These projects he said were the retooling and equipping of four selected facilities at the Eastern Region at a cost of €40,000.000.00.
The facilities included the Tetteh Quarshie Memorial Hospital, the Atibie Government Hospital, the Aburi District Hospital and the female ward of the Kibi Government Hospital.
In addition, he said government had completed the phase II of the rehabilitation of the Bolgatanga Regional Hospital at a cost of $20,000,000.00 as well as the construction and rehabilitation of treatment and holding centres at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, Pantang Psychiatric Hospital, Dodowa, Kumasi South, Aflao, Elubo, Keta, Cape Coast and Adaklu hospitals.
Dr Okoe Boye said it was deceptive for any individual or group to assert that the government had not done any infrastructure development in the Ashanti Region when it comes to the health sector, outlining that apart from the hospitals undertaken in some districts in the region, government had completed the Ashanti Regional Hospital at Sewua.
Touching on a number of ongoing hospital projects in the country, he listed the design and construction of the Eastern Regional Hospital with a teaching facility at a cost of €70,000,00.00 which was about 56 per cent complete.
In addition to this was the rehabilitation of the Effia Nkwanta Hospital and the construction of the New Western Regional Hospital at a cost of €190,000,000.00 with both being at 27per cent and 37 per cent completion stages respectively.
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Also he said the Asawinso Treatment Centre estimated at GH¢21,676,912.97 were 92 per cent complete while the rehabilitation of the Diabetes Management Research and Training Centre at Korle-bu Teaching Hospital (KBTH) at a cost of GH¢1,449,215.58.00 was at 95 per cent complete.
The Minister added that the refurbishment and remodelling of a research laboratory at Effia Nkwanta Regional Hospital which was at the cost of $499,511.88 was also currently at 39 per cent complete.
Furthermore, he said the reconstruction of the Tema General Hospital and the Central Medical Stores as well as the rehabilitation of the Nkoranza and Dormaa Hospitals all at €140,000,000.00 were on course with completion rate of 17 per cent, 15 per cent, 10 per cent and one per cent respectively.
Apart from those listed above, Dr Okoe Boye said the government was constructing 12 hospitals at the Eastern, Ashanti, Ahafo and Greater Accra regions at the cost of €71,000,000.00 with the completion rate between 85 and 98 per cent.
He said these hospitals were not part of the government's flagship health infrastructure programme, "Agenda 111" which were at different stages of completion.
