The Managing Director (MD) of the Nsawam Orthopedic Training Center (OTC), Elizabeth Newman, has expressed her disappointment over the delay in the clearance of some equipment and medical supplies donated to Tema Port.
Inaugurating a newly built OTC in Loagri, a suburb of Walewale in West Mamprusi Municipality in the North Eastern Region, to provide specialized care to persons with disabilities (PWDs) and deformities, especially children, he said: “We have applied for tax exemption for the items in the container before reaching the port”.
However, at the time the center was being inaugurated, the equipment and supplies to be used were yet to be cleared and therefore Sister Newman appealed to the authorities, particularly the Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, and the Minister of Health, Mr. Kwaku Agyeman-Manu, to step in and facilitate the clearance processes to enable the facility to commence operations immediately.
The facility, which is the first of its kind in the northern part of the country will help provide relief to disabled people in the region.
Ease
The OTC in Walewale is an extension of the universal OTC in Nsawam near Accra and consists of an orthopedic clinic and a laboratory complex where artificial leg braces, prosthetic limbs, clutches and shoes will be manufactured.
It is expected to serve patients in the northern part of Ghana, who have so far traveled to Nsawam and other parts of the country to seek specialist care.
It was built by the Catholic OTC with funding from a Swiss Family Foundation.
Financial burden
On his part, the Provincial Superior of the Missionaries of the Divine Word, Ghana-Liberia Province, Father Cyprian Kuupol, said the facility in Walewale will go a long way in alleviating the financial burden and stress experienced by patients in accessing orthopedic health care services .
While thanking all the chiefs and various stakeholders for their utmost cooperation and support that helped establish the centre, he disclosed plans to open new branches across the country to bring orthopedic healthcare to the doorsteps of citizens.
Praise
West Mamprusi Municipality Chief Executive Officer (MCE), Issahaku Arimiyaw Somo, commended the OTC management for the gesture and pledged to provide them with the necessary support to ensure the full operation of the centre.
He also pledged to convey their concerns to the relevant authorities to ensure that all their pieces of equipment that were locked up at the port are cleared as a matter of urgency.
The opening ceremony marked the 10th anniversary of the death of Brother Tarquisius Christopher de Ruiter, SVD, the Founder of the OTC in Nsawam.
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