Remote health centres to benefit from communication gadgets

Nwineso Number Three (Ash), April 21, GNA - Dr Kofi Kamara Deen Hussein, Bosomtwe-Atwima-Kwanwoma District Director of Health Services, has announced the completion of plans by the Ghana Health Service (GHS) for the installation of special communication gadgets at health facilities in selected remote communities in the Ashanti Region. He said the Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA) would provide funds for the procurement and installation of the gadgets and that the installation of communication facilities in remote health institutions was the first of its kind in the region.

Dr Hussein announced this at the inauguration of a newly established health centre at Nwineso Number Three on Tuesday. The building housing the centre was offered for temporary use and free of charge by a prominent citizen of the town, Mr Anthony Nyamekye. The community only provided furniture for the centre while the District Health Service (DHS) provided drugs and materials for the functioning of the centre to the tune of about 12 million cedis.

In addition, the DHS also posted two professionally trained nurses to man the centre.

Even though he did not mention the selected communities to benefit from the communication facilities, Dr Hussein acknowledged that the health centre at Nwineso would be the first facility to benefit. Dr Hussein said the plan and arrangement to provide special communication gadgets for remote health institutions formed part of the programme of the GHS to link up rural health institutions to the district hospitals, especially in the event of emergencies.

In an address read for Mr Bright Addai-Mununkum, District Chief Executive, he announced that the district assembly had already projected the construction of permanent buildings to house the health centre at Nwineso Number Three.

He, however, made it clear that the realisation of such a dream would largely depend on the sort of patronage for the facilities at the newly established health centre.

Nana Kwasi Abire, chief of Nwineso Number Three, lauded Mr Nyamekye for his show of affection to his community by offering his private building for a health centre and also the GHS for deeming it prudent to site a health centre in the area.

Nana Abire appealed to the inhabitants of the town and satellite communities to make full use of the facility by patronising it since that was the only way to reciprocate the gesture of the GHS in locating the facility there.