President Akufo-Addo has expressed satisfaction with the progress of work on the reconstruction and mordernisation of the Maternity and Children’s block of the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, in Kumasi.

Inspecting the project on Monday, 17th October 2022, as part of his four-day working visit to the Ashanti Region, the President was informed that the project, thus far, has seen a 100% demolition of the old structure, with the current progress of work about 60 percent complete.

It will be recalled that on Friday, 15th May 2020, the President cut the sod for the re-activation of work on the Maternity and Children’s ward at the teaching hospital after over four decades of neglect.

Before this, the Akufo-Addo government, represented by the Ministry of Health had on 6th November, 2019, employed Contracta Construction UK Limited for the design, execution and completion of works and the remedying of any defects, which include the re-modelling and completion of shell spaces for the existing building structure.

Subsequently, after the Contractor’s structural integrity report for the existing building structure, Government decided to revise the scope of works in November 2020 to include complete demolition of the old existing structure, and a re-design, construction and complete equipping of the new and modern mother and child health facility

The revised contract also includes the provision of a 3-year maintenance program for medical equipment with training and technical assistance, procurement of medical and non–medical consumables, and the training of needed human resource training, technical assistance and mentorship programmes.

The new design has eight floors, 22 consulting rooms, three group consulting rooms, two consulting rooms for adult emergencies, two consulting rooms for paediatric emergencies, three Auditorium [45 seats, 43 seats and 145 seats], five seminar rooms (14 seats) and 506 beds with the capacity to hold, 199 paediatric cots, 136 paediatric beds, 19 birthing beds and 152 adult beds.

Additionally, the block will also have one Obstetrics Theater, seven General Theatres, Pharmacy, Dispensaries, Laboratories as well as Ancillary spaces.

Once completed, it will house an intensive care unit, a high dependency unit, isolation rooms and student lecture halls, with the capacity to provide catering services for staff, patients and students.

The expanded works have also resulted in the ongoing reconstruction of the Station Basic School classroom block at the UDDARA Barracks, which is scheduled to be completed by January 2023.