SUNYANI HOSPITAL GETS DIABETIC CLINIC (PAGE 35)

WORK on a new clinic to provide services for diabetic, hypertensive and sickle cell patients, as well as Anti Retroviral Treatment (ART), has been completed at the Sunyani Regional Hospital in the Brong Ahafo Region.
The GH¢73,671.87 clinic, which was financed with the hospital’s internally generated funds (IGF), will also serve as a centre for the management of other specialist cases.
At the inauguration of the project, which coincided with the sixth anniversary celebration of the hospital, the Medical Director in-charge, Dr Daniel Kwabena Asare, said cervical cancer screening and herbal medicine would soon be introduced at the hospital.
He further said from 2004 to date, the hospital’s total out-patient attendance doubled from 50,000 to 99,260 while admissions also increased from 3,754 to 7,312 with deliveries going up from 900 to 1,760.
Dr Asare added that referrals to higher levels of care decreased from 19 to nine with major and minor surgical operations increasing by 30 per cent.
According to the medical director, more services had been added to the existing ones since the establishment of the hospital in 2003.
He mentioned some of them as romaxilofacial, Urology, mammography, ART, endoscopy and orthopaedics.
Dr Asare said the management and staff of the facility had delivered on the promises made six years ago and were still making giant strides in all areas of endeavour.
“We shall strive to maintain the cleanliness and serenity of this hospital to the best of our abilities and capabilities; we shall spare no efforts to attract and retain highly motivated, competent and contented mix of workforce,” he said, adding that “we shall try to achieve a high standard of care to our cherished clients.”
He said the hospital had been accredited for the training of house officers, such as medical officers, health services administrators, nurses, pharmacists and laboratory technicians.
The medical director said the management had encouraged serving officers of all grades to acquire additional knowledge and skills, adding that at present there were a number of officers pursuing further studies at various levels of education.
Dr Asare said by progressive innovations, supplemented by effective collaborative supervision, the hospital had outsourced the functions of essential but non-core activities, including cleaning, weeding, trimming of lawns and gardens, as well as security services, to service providers. The result of that public-private partnership, he said, had enabled the hospital to maintain its status six years after commencement of service.
According to him, with the IGF, the hospital could now boast a 15-seater mini bus and a Nissan pick-up to facilitate the movement of staff to and from the hospital while plans were far advanced to procure a 33-seater bus.
Additionally, he said, the IGF had been used to construct a new relatives’ hostel, medical stores and a fence wall.
Dr Asare, however, noted with concern that sometimes, the hospital encountered erratic and unreliable supply of electricity and water.
The Regional Director of Health Services, Dr Aaron Offei, acknowledged that as a referral hospital, the facility had lived up to expectation by providing services to patients from the region, who otherwise would have travelled to the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) in Kumasi.
He stressed that the hospital continued to mentor other hospitals in the region to improve on quality service delivery.
Dr Offei said it was on record that the hospital had made judicious use of local resources and continued to maintain a beautiful and clean environment to the admiration of even foreign visitors.
At the same function, an 11-member advisory board of directors for the hospital was inaugurated to see to an effective and a more efficient running of the facility.