The facility under construction
Work on the University of Ghana Teaching Hospital (UGTH) project continues to progress steadily after 14 months of commencement, project managers have indicated.
The hospital project, scheduled to be completed within the next 22months, has reached an overall progress of 32 percent completion, with the contractors predicting they would finish within contract duration.
When completed, the $217million UGTH would be a quaternary hospital facility that would provide cutting edge medical training and research for various health professionals in Ghana.
Taking a delegation from the Parliamentary Select Committee on Health on a tour of the facility at the University of Ghana, Legon, Prof Aaron Lawson, Provost of the College of Health Sciences, said the construction is currently being undertaken on the first phases.
‘Phase one, currently under construction, will provide 600 beds when completed. Phase two will provide 400 beds giving a grand total of 1000 beds,’ he said.
He said the phase one would comprise eight separate buildings that would house different specialised areas like emergency, imaging, operating theatres, laboratories, computer room, maternity and pediatric, clinics and day surgery, orthopedic in-patient, medical training facility, staff accommodation and a maintenance and logistics building.
The first two would also comprise of external works such as roads, guard post, drainage, infrastructure of electric and mechanical works and medical and non-medical equipment.
Prof Lawson appealed to the delegation to help address some of the challenges of a tax and funding gap which has the potential of delaying the project.
‘We will need your support when we appeal for task exemption so the constructor can bring in more materials for the work,’ he said.
Ms Sherry Ayittey, outgoing Minister of Health, said the construction of the hospital attests to the government’s vision of decentralising medical training in the country.
She said the construction would therefore help in decongesting training facilities like the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital and also spread the training across the country.
‘The selection process for the core staff is to be trained at the Sheba Medical Centre in Israel so that by the time this facility is completed, we will have people who have been trained to run it,’ she said.
Chairman of the Select Committee on Health, Joseph Yieleh Chireh, interacting with the media after the tour said the committee was impressed with the progress of work and urged the contractors to work within the budget and contract schedule.
By Jamila Akweley Okertchiri
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