Story: Zakaria Alhassan, Tamale
President John Evans Atta Mills has indicated that the government is on course in fulfilling its campaign promises.
He, therefore, entreated the people to have faith in it as it delivered on its promises one after another.
“As a government, we are working feverishly to achieve these objectives; let no one doubt our ability to meet these promises,” he emphasised.
The President was speaking during the sod-cutting ceremony for work to commence on the 43.1 million Euro rehabilitation, expansion and upgrading project of the Tamale Teaching Hospital (TTH).
When completed, the 400-bed facility will serve as a referral centre for the northern part of the country.
The project is jointly being funded by the Fortis Bank NV of The Netherlands and the Government of Ghana.
The ceremony was witnessed by a large crowd of people from all walks of life, including Ministers of State, Members of Parliament and members of the Council of State.
The Regent of Dagbon, Kampakuya-Na Abdulai Andani, and some of his sub-chiefs also graced the occasion.
The four-year project involves the construction of a new four-storey block and an accident and emergency centre and the refurbishment of existing facilities.
Since its construction in 1974, the hospital has not received any major rehabilitation, leading to the deterioration of facilities and equipment.
According to the President, “the start of this project is and will remain a testimony to the promise we made to Ghanaians on assumption of duty barely 15 months ago. It is also a testimony to our commitment to transform the Savannah zone of this country into a vibrant and well-functioning part of this country and to ensure that it contributes effectively to the better Ghana agenda”.
He said the project was also a well-orchestrated plan by the government to boost medical education in the northern part of the country, as it would serve as a breeding ground for the Medical School of the University for Development Studies in Tamale.
“Our resolve, as a government, towards the realisation of the vision of ensuring access to basic health care for all is not negotiable. And we will only claim that we have achieved our goal when every community in all parts of this country can access basic healthcare services without difficulty,” President Mills said.
He, however, observed that the continuing challenges of mal-distribution of health staff, misuse of resources and the total neglect of ethics and the code of conduct by some medical professionals in dealing with patients were among issues that needed to be dealt with.
The President further noted that the provision of quality health care could not be attained in the country without the requisite infrastructure, for which reason the government had devoted resources to strengthening the institutional capacity of various agencies under the Ministry of Health.
The Chief Executive Officer of the TTH, Dr Ken Sagoe, said the successful completion of the project would offer the staff the opportunity to achieve the mandate of the hospital as a teaching hospital and also realise their vision of offering quality tertiary health care, medical education and research to the people.
He expressed appreciation to the government for the project and commended the staff of the hospital for working through trying moments over the years in the face of the daily challenges.
For his part, the Minister of Health, Dr Benjamin Kunbour, said an additional GH¢14.6 million would be needed to provide staff bungalows for the hospital and gave the assurance that the government was prepared to realise that objective.
He indicated that a monitoring team had been established at the MoH to give an update on the progress of work on a regular basis.
“It is our hope that the people of Tamale will co-operate with the project team to ensure its successful completion,” he added.
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