UG Medical Centre Opens at Last

Come rain, come shine, the University of Ghana Medical Centre would commence operations today, sources close to the PUBLISHER has assured.

This decision by government comes after persistent outrage over the abandonment of the 600-bed capacity medical centre.

The $217 million facility which was supposed to have opened in November 2017, was kept locked to the public due to a purported ‘war’ between the Ministry of Health (MoH) and the University of Ghana over who manages the centre.

The timely intervention according to critics would mitigate the seeming challenges facing the health sector in recent time.

The facility which kickstarts with a staff strength of about 30 as approved by the Health Ministry, will only take referral Out Patient Department (OPD) cases in the short term.

Specialist services in three departments―Dermatology, Ophthalmology and Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) will roll out by the end of the year.

The facility has about eight huge blocks, which house an emergency centre, an outpatient and administration block, women and children’s centre, a medical training and simulation centre, among others.

The centre is expected to serve as a Centre for medical tourism for those in need of medical services within the sub-region and beyond for super tertiary care and specialties.

Meanwhile, Parliament has approved €47m for the second phase of the Centre to facilitate the relocation and accommodation of all institutions of the College of Health Sciences to the University of Ghana, Legon campus to serve as a nerve centre of the proposed Medical Village.

By: Grace Ablewor Sogbey/ [email protected]