The President of the Republic of Ghana, Nana Addo Danquah Akufo Addo has officially inaugurated the conversion of the Sunyani District Hospital into a Teaching Hospital after the Cabinet approved the Memorandum of Understanding for the conversion at its forty fifth meeting on Friday 24th.u February, 2023.
The Minister of Health Mr. Kwaku Agyemang Manu on behalf of the President launched the conversion on a unique and historic occasion in Sunyani. In a speech read on his behalf, the President stated that the The opening of the Sunyani Teaching Hospital will not only enable the hospital to provide tertiary healthcare, but will also offer extensive undergraduate and postgraduate training opportunities for doctors and other health professionals from across and beyond the region.
“With the establishment of Sunyani Teaching Hospital, we have laid the foundation for an influx of medical specialists and other health professionals in the region to improve health outcomes,” he reiterated.
“My government is also working hard to develop a 60-bed infectious disease center at Sunyani Teaching Hospital to strengthen our public health capacity to effectively deal with infectious disease outbreaks and ensure that Ghana is better prepared to respond to future epidemics”.
“Furthermore, my government has also completed 19 health facilities in Bono District, a 60-bed hospital in Tain District, Benkasa Health Center in Berekum West District and 17 Community Health Planning Service (CHPs) complex with staff accommodation,” the President revealed .
District Governor Bono, Hon. Justina Owusu-Banahene in her speech, highlighted that the initiative marks a new chapter with wreaths of seamless opportunity for the advancement of medical knowledge and health science, with corresponding social and economic development for the resilient community.
He added that the collaboration between the academic community of medical sciences and the professional health care providers will transform the Sunyani Teaching Hospital into a center of excellence in medical research and education to incubate useful knowledge and develop skills in health care delivery.
Dr. Cardinal Newton, the Medical Director of Sunyani District Hospital highlighting some achievements in their efforts to save lives in recent years, he said the hospital has partnered with the Ghana Health Service and in particular the NGOs, Kybele and Path, to expand and equip the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit with modern life saving equipment. “In collaboration with the Young President Organisation, also an NGO, we managed to establish a state-of-the-art Pediatric Emergency Unit (PEU) which has significantly contributed to the reduction of neonatal and child mortality.”
According to him, the hospital used its limited internally generated fund to undertake a complete renovation of the emergency department to cater for medical, surgical, obstetric and pediatric emergencies. “Refreshing the Emergency Unit with modern life-saving equipment has resulted in a 30% reduction in mortality from accidents and emergencies. He declared.
Dr. Patrick Kuma-Aboagye, the Director General of the Ghana Health Service on his part said the transition is to ensure that the hospital will be able to train the necessary manpower to be more advanced in the medical field and also provide the best care services throughout the region and beyond.
The event was attended by Ministers of State, Members of Parliament, CEOs of Teaching Hospitals, Medical Directors, members of the Academia, Nananom, government appointees and many others.