UG Medical School near completion

The multi-million dollar University of Ghana Teaching Hospital (UGTH) project currently under construction will commence operations by the third week of January 2016, the university authorities have announced.

Professor Aaron Lawson of UG who doubles as the coordinator for the project made this known when the outgoing Israeli Ambassador, Sharon Bar- Li, visited the site with the media to have first-hand knowledge about progress that has been made so far since work commenced on the facility in 2013.

The 617-bed medical centre is being financed by a loan facility agreement between the government of Ghana and the government of Israel.

It is being built by Messrs Engineering & Development Consultants Limited, an Israeli firm, using the model of the Sheba Medical Centre in Israel.

Prof Lawson indicated that about “95% of core and shell has been completed and for the entire project, we are 65% through and it is expected to start running by January 2016.”

He estimated the construction cost of the project at about “$185 million and the total cost including finance charges at about $217 million.”

According to Prof Lawson, 80 Ghanaian health and non-health professionals would undergo training at the Sheba Medical Centre in Israel as part of the project package.

He disclosed that “currently, 20 senior specialists and consultants are in Sheba; to be followed by nurses, administrators, biomedical engineers and pharmacists.”

Project Phases

The project, Prof Lawson said, is divided into two phases.

According to him, phase one which is under construction would provide 617 beds when completed and that the second phase would increase the bed capacity to about 1,000.

He disclosed that the project comprises of a central building which houses the emergency, imaging, operating theatres; a medical training centre which is expected to house a medical simulation centre and a modest staff accommodation of 360-bedroom flats.

“Phase 2 focuses on heart, cancer and rehabilitation centres as well as a medical hotel, housing and dialysis unit,” he added.

Ms Bar-Li expressed deep satisfaction with the level of work that has so far been carried out on the project and added that the partnership between Ghana and Israel was in the right direction, saying that the hospital would bring enormous benefits to Ghana.

She was optimistic that the hospital would become a regional centre of excellence when it becomes operational and urged that it be properly maintained to at all time serve the purpose for which it was being constructed.