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GHS receives big boost as government hands over 10,000 hospital beds

President Akufo-Addo has handed over 10,000 beds to the Ghana Health Service to boost the capacity of public health facilities

President Akufo-Addo has handed over 10,000 beds to the Ghana Health Service (GHS) to boost the capacity of public health facilities throughout the country.

President Akufo-Addo addresses guests at the handing-over ceremony

Addressing guests at a ceremony at the Air Force Base in Burma Camp, Accra, where the beds were warehoused, to hand the goods over to the Ghana Health Service through the Ministry of Health, President Akufo-Addo said the initiative is aimed at eliminating the “no bed” syndrome in Ghanaian hospitals. It is also in fulfilment of his government’s Election 2016 campaign promise to accelerate, under the Infrastructure for Poverty Eradication Programme (IPEP), the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), especially goals 1, 2, 3, 6 and 12.

“It is always disconcerting to see patients being treated in wheelchairs, plastic chairs and even on the floors because of the unavailability of beds. The government’s determination to see an end to this ‘no bed’ syndrome has resulted in the decision to procure these hospitals beds and their associated accessories for distribution across the country to augment the existing numbers in the country,” President Akufo-Addo said.

“In total, 1,500 critical care beds with overhead tables, 2,000 pieces of standard hospital beds with bedside lockers, 4,000 pieces of health centre beds with bedside lockers, 1,000 pieces of children’s cots and 1,500 pieces of delivery beds have been purchased,” the president said.

Some of the beds on display at the Air Force Base

Equitable distribution

The beds, the president said, are to be distributed to hospitals in all 275 constituencies in the country.

He urged users and hospital staff where the beds are to be sent to take good care of them in order to prolong the lifespan of their use.

Special Initiatives Minister

In brief remarks, the Minister for Special Initiatives, Hawa Coomson, pledged that her department, with the support of the Health Ministry, will ensure fair distribution of the beds throughout the country. She registered her ministry’s appreciation to the Ghana Armed Forces for warehousing the beds for the state.

According to Coomson, her ministry is committed to putting in place socio-economic priority programmes under the Infrastructure for Poverty Eradication Programme (IPEP), which seeks to provide much-needed infrastructure at the constituency level.

“The delivery of the 10,000 hospital beds is another landmark achievement of government to improve health care in Ghana under the leadership of the President of the Republic and the Commander-in-Chief of the Ghana Armed Forces, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo,” the minister said.

Ministry of Special Development Initiatives

The Ministry of Special Development Initiatives (MSDI) was established essentially to formulate and implement policies, plans and programmes for the implementation of the government’s priority initiatives and projects through three new development agencies.

These are the Northern Development Authority (NDA), Middle Belt Development Authority (MBDA) and Coastal Development Authority (CODA).

Wilberforce Asare / Asaase Radio

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