The Parliamentary Select Committee on Health has called for the conversion of the Upper West Regional Hospital into a teaching institution following a recent inspection of the facility.
The Committee, led by its chairman, praised the hospital for its infrastructure, specialised units, and its potential to serve as a regional medical training hub.
Speaking to the media during the visit, the chairman highlighted that the hospital’s nearly 300-bed capacity and various specialised departments qualify it to become a teaching hospital, which could help meet the growing demand for medical education in the northern region of Ghana.
“Yes, but we want this hospital to be a teaching hospital. It has all that it takes. Number of beds approaching 300 and they have all the units. Even though their diagnosis center, I think the ICT has broken down, they promise to fix it within the shortest possible time, and they have also staff problems at the lab.
“They are doing very well and we want to report that they can look at the possibility of converting it into another teaching hospital in the northern part of the country,” he said.
While acknowledging the hospital’s strengths, the chairman noted that staffing shortages remain a key challenge, as is common across many healthcare facilities in Ghana.
He called on the Ministry of Health to provide financial clearance to recruit additional personnel, which would help alleviate the strain on existing staff and maintain the hospital’s high standards.
He also commended the hospital’s management for effectively utilising internally generated funds (IGF), which have helped maintain the hospital’s operations and infrastructure.
He encouraged the management to continue focusing on revenue generation to support further improvements, including the purchase of new medical equipment and staff incentives.
However, the Committee identified areas in need of improvement, such as the hospital’s limited diagnostic equipment.
The chairman stressed the urgent need for additional PCR machines, particularly given the region’s vulnerability to meningitis outbreaks, and highlighted the importance of acquiring a pediatric dialysis machine.
“We have seen the problems. You know, the PCR machine is only one for a region that usually has an epidemic of meningitis. That is not enough. They need one or two of such machines to add, so that they can manage their meningitis cases from the standpoint of science. Or else they’ll be doing it blindly,” he explained.
The Committee has committed to submitting a report outlining these concerns to the Minister of Health. The chairman also noted that a briefing would be held with Parliamentary leadership, including the Speaker, before the report is forwarded to the Ministry.
Other members who joined the visit included the deputy ranking member of the Health Committee and other committee members.
Report by Alhassan Tajudeen for Asaase News in the Upper West Region
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