The Minister of Health, Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, has proposed that emergency departments in major hospitals should have bed capacities equivalent to at least 10 per cent of their overall bed capacity to help address the recurring “no-bed syndrome” in the country
He said the growing population required health infrastructure planning to give greater consideration to emergency departments, where inadequate bed capacity sometimes resulted in patients being turned away even when hospitals had significant overall bed capacity
The Minister of Health, Kwabena Mintah Akandoh Speaking to the media
“We have all realised that from time to time, some facilities turn patients away because they don’t have beds.
And when they say beds, they are talking about the emergency beds,” Mr Akandoh said.
The Minister said this when he led officials of the Ministry of Health and local assembly officials on an inspection of the ongoing reconstruction of the La Hospital to assess progress of work on the facility.
Mr Akandoh said the “no bed” issue had informed his request for the consultants working on the La General Hospital to reconsider the configuration and capacity of its emergency department in relation to the total number of beds planned for the facility.
The original facility was demolished in 2020 after structural reports indicated severe cracking that made the building unsafe.
When completed, the 160-bed the reconstructed hospital will have an emergency and specialised maternal care units to relieve pressure on neighboring hospitals like the Greater Accra Regional Hospital (Ridge), Police and LEKMA Hospitals, as well as the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital.
The project is expected to be completed by the end of 2027 for commissioning in January 2028
During the visit, the Daily Graphic observed that the multi-storey structure had visibly taken shape, with concrete floors and columns erected, blockwork underway and extensive scaffolding covering the upper levels.
Workers in protective gear were active across the site, while a crane and concrete mixer were operational and welders worked at rebar stations, signalling ongoing structural works.
On the reconstruction, the Minister expressed satisfaction with the progress made since his previous visit, but urged the contractors to accelerate work to enable the project to be completed ahead of schedule.
They are doing well but they can do better.
They can speed up so that we can beat the deadline,” he stated.
Mr Akandoh said about €15 million the project valued at about €50 million, had so far been paid adding that the latest Interim Payment Certificate had been forwarded to the Ministry of Finance for processing.
More workers
The Member of Parliament (MP) for La Dade-Kotopon, Rita Naa Odoley Sowah, called for more workers to be deployed to the project site to accelerate construction and help deliver the hospital ahead of schedule.
source:www.senaradioonline.com
