University of Ghana begins construction of 600-bed teaching hospital

University of Ghana (UG) through the Government of Ghana has sourced a loan facility of US$217 million from the Israeli Government to construct a 600-bed teaching hospital at Legon. When completed all the University's constituent institutions would be relocated from the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital at Mamprobi to the new hospital. The project will be equipped with state-of-the-art facilities for trauma and emergency service with a heliport and internal medicine including Surgery, Obstetrics and gynecology, paediatrics, cardiology, heart surgery and medicinal imaging. Professor Ernest Aryeetey, Vice-Chancellor, UG, speaking at the ground breaking ceremony to commence the construction work, said the project would be a model of the Sheba Medical Centre in Israel. He said the facility would provide specialized medical service, which would afford Ghanaians and the people in the sub-region the opportunity to access quality medical care in Ghana. He said there would be a skill training unit for undergraduates and residency training. “It will also provide additional opportunity for inter-disciplinary research and teaching which ultimately enhance the quality of facilities available for modern medical and health science education,” he added. Prof Aryeetey noted that the project marked the beginning of relocating the Korle Bu of the University where a 400 acre parcel of land had been waiting for years to be occupied. Rojo Mettle Nunoo, Deputy Minister of Health, said every government strove to make life comfortable for its citizens, noting that education and health were of much concern to citizens. He said the project would ease the current pressure on the Korle Bu Teaching hospital because it has the potential of being expanded into a 1,300 bed facility.

The Deputy Minister expressed the hope that when completed it would be self-financing and be opened to the public and citizens from the West African sub-region and beyond.

He said the Sheba Medical Centre in Israel had agreed to provide all the assistance required to ensure that the facility provides the most efficient health care that would measure up to global standards.

He assured the University community of Government’s commitment to provide the needed support in health service and education institutions to help make available health for all.

“Plans are underway to replicate this at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology and indeed in the other Medical Public Universities that train health professionals in the country,” he added.

Justice Dr Samuel K. Date-Baah, Chairman, University Council, said if the country needed a healthy nation then it was time to put together all the identified strategies and policy for implementation.

He commended the management of the University for the foresight to provide its student quality health care education.