St Dominic's Hospital to operate Eye clinic

The St Dominic's Hospital at Akwatia in the Eastern Region is to start operating an Eye Clinic by the middle of August, Mr Patrick Owusu-Bonsu, the Hospital Administrator, has said.

He said this when Mr Detmer Hassiemann, a benefactor of the hospital on behalf of Rotary International and the Ruebsam family of Germany, co-sponsors of a multi-million Eye Centre, handed over the keys to the facility to the Hospital Management.

Mr Owusu-Bonsu said the clinic, which cost about 1.2 billion cedis to build and the equipment, valued at about 2.5 billion cedis, would be commissioned in August.

He said Rotary International would be sponsoring some renowned German ophthalmologists to come down and work alongside a Ghanaian medical officer who had already undergone a specialist course in ophthalmology under a sponsorship 0f the hospital.

Four of such expatriate ophthalmologists, he said, would be arriving at the hospital in August and would stay for about four weeks.

Dr Mercy Dawson, the Ophthalmologist in-charge of the clinic, said Rotary International had drawn a programme under which there would always be a German Specialist all year round.

She said the hospital had sponsored two nurses for a course in Ophthalmic Nursing and two technicians are also being sponsored for a course in optometry.

The Medical Superintendent, Dr Owusu Agyekum, said the clinic would serve patients who travel to Koforidua, Korle Bu or Agogo Government Hospitals for treatment.

The St Dominic's Hospital that has about 357 beds is the biggest Mission Hospital in Ghana and the largest health facility in the Eastern Region in terms of service delivery.

It has one physician specialist, an Obstetrician and Gynaecologist, a surgeon, an Ophthalmologist, a family physician, five medical officers, three medical assistants and 140 nurses.

It was established as a local clinic but was taken over by the Dominican Sisters from Germany in May 1960