Volta Regional Hospital, now Ho Teaching Hospital
The Volta Regional Hospital (Trafalgar) has been upgraded into a Teaching Hospital with the name Ho Teaching Hospital (HTH) for the University of Health and Allied Sciences (UHAS).
Mr Kwaku Agyeman-Manu, Minister of Health, who re-commissioned the facility in Ho on Monday said the delay of the inauguration was to amend portions of the Ghana Health Service and Teaching Hospitals ACT 525 of 1996, to strengthen governance and management systems of the Hospital.
He said his outfit intended to make the HTH a model Hospital and would first pilot the new governance and management arrangements being proposed in view of problems faced by existing teaching hospitals in the country.
Mr Agyeman-Manu announced that while awaiting amendments of ACT 525, MOH would guide management of the facility to operate appropriately as a teaching hospital.
He said a Momerandum of Understanding had been designed in that effect to enable UHAS and MOH to boost good work relationship for optimum performance and quality care.
The Minister said the MOH was working towards acquiring funds to expand infrastructure for service delivery including additional wards, offices and new equipment, to enhance service delivery according to the Hospital’s present status.
He said resourcing the HTH appropriately would make it the premium in innovative tertiary healthcare delivery, world class medical education and research, to give relief to all who sought tertiary healthcare elsewhere and decongest existing teaching hospitals.
Mr Agyeman-Manu said human resource was critical to the provision of tertiary health service and directed the Health Directorate to give special attention to the HTH in the distribution of qualified nurses and allied health professions.
He said the MOH in consultation with the Chief of Staff was working assiduously to inaugurate the Board of Governors as soon as the amendments to the GHS and Teaching Hospitals ACT had been approved by Parliament to provide direction and guidance to the management of the Hospital.
He said as the status of the Hospital changed to a Teaching one, The Director General and the Governing Council of the Ghana Health Service was expected to announce a new Volta Regional hospital soon.
“I believe when this is done it will improve access to quality health service to the people of the region as well as its adjoining regions including Oti, Eastern and Togo and Benin.
Professor John Gyapong, Vice-Chancellor of UHAS said his outfit and HTH officially began a unique lifelong journey mindful of all potential challenges and that “we will work together with the hospital management team to ensure progress and shun mistakes of other older teaching hospitals.”
He disclosed that UHAS intended to work with some satellite hospitals in the region and appealed to the Regional Directorate of Health Services to facilitate that initiative.
Dr Archibald Letsa, Volta Regional Minister said President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo’s elevation of the Volta Regional Hospital to a teaching one, was a confirmation of government’s commitment to providing a sustainable healthcare delivery for the people.
He said the expansion of facilities and the economics of the region would spiral Ho into acquiring a metropolitan status and invited entrepreneurs to take advantage of the opportunities.
The Regional Minister said the Volta Regional Coordinating Council would support in uplifting the image of the HTH towards making the facility a model medical tourism centre to serve as a pull-factor for clients from within and outside of the region.
Togbe Howusu XII, Awafiaga of Asogli State commended government for giving hearing to their pleas, giving birth to the HTH, and demanded infrastructure, funding and applied technology to give meaning to the new status.
A six-member acting Management team headed by Dr John Tampouri, acting Chief Executive Officer of HTH was out-doored.
Source: GNA