President Nana Akufo-Addo on Friday commissioned the 60-bed Tain District Hospital, located in Nsawkaw, Tain, in the Bono East Region.

This hospital, initiated by former President John Agyekum Kufuor in 2008 as part of the ‘Ghana Hospitals Project’, is the fourth such Hospital commissioned by the President.

It follows the opening of the Upper West Regional Hospital, in Wa, the Ga East Municipal Hospital, in Accra, which is now one of the country’s foremost Covid-19 Treatment Centres, and the Ahafo Ano Municipal Hospital.

The “Ghana Hospital Project” involves the design, construction and equipping of one (1) Military Hospital, two (2) Regional Hospitals, and six (6) District Hospitals in Ghana, at a project cost of US$339 million. It falls under the broader objective of providing infrastructure for the delivery of effective healthcare to the citizenry.

Other hospitals being constructed under this Project are the 250 bed Regional Hospital at Sewua in the Bosomtwe District; 60 bed Municipal Hospital at Salaga in the East Gonja Municipality; 60 bed Municipal Hospital at Konongo in Asante Akim Central Municipality; and 60 bed District Hospital at Twifo Praso in the Twifo/Atti-Morkwa District.

All of these projects, the President stressed, all expected to be commissioned before the end of this year.

The Tain District Hospital has been constructed at a cost of $36.6 million, and has been designed with several departments including administration; outpatient department (OPD); physiotherapy unit; pharmacy; radiology; laboratory; surgical suite (operation dep.); emergency & casualty; and obstetrics & gynecology (maternity and child health).

The rest are central sterile supply department; ambulance station; inpatient wards – 100-bed capacity; staff dining; kitchen & outdoor cooking area; medical gases production unit; laundry; mortuary; medical waste department; general stores; maintenance department; power station; relatives’ hostel; 14 staff housing units; and a mini market.

Additionally, the Hospital has been equipped with modern medical equipment, such as x-ray machines, ultrasound machines, fully equipped operating theatre, medical gases, and patient monitors.

It also has a medical waste treatment plant, a power station, a water treatment plant, a central air conditioning system and an anaerobic sewerage treatment plant.

To the Chiefs and people of Nsawkaw, President Akufo-Addo reiterated his commitment to improving access to essential and quality health services through the provision of the necessary health infrastructure, equipment and logistics, including the deployment of appropriate technology, as part of our drive to attaining Universal Health Coverage (UHC).

He urged administrators of the to embrace and strengthen the culture of maintenance.

“This edifice has been put at great cost to our nation, and we should be in the position, some ten years down the line, to see it still in good condition. It should not fall in the ways in which several institutions like this in Ghana have gone. The leadership of this facility must set the example for its periodic and constant maintenance, and will be held accountable for this,” he added.