GUSHEGU GETS NEW DISTRICT HOSPITAL (BACK PAGE)

THE people of Gushegu in the Northern Region now have a district hospital.
This follows the inauguration of a GH¢24 million facility equipped with a mortuary, two operating suites, and maternity, paediatrics, male and female wards.
The hospital would provide services in accident and emergency cases, dental treatment, prosthetics, medical and surgical services, obstetrics and delivery services, and out-patient and in-patient services.
Inaugurating the new facility, the Health Minister, Major Courage Quashigah (retd), called on the management of the hospital to establish a "planned preventive maintenance programme" to enable the people to derive maximum benefits from the facility for many years to come.
"This hospital is one of the best in the country and has been designed to provide quality services for the people of Gushegu on a sustainable basis," Major Quashigah stated.
The minister announced plans to refurbish the old Gushegu Hospital and convert it into the first National Regenerative Health and Nutrition Training Centre.
According to him, preliminary evaluation by his ministry had revealed that the incidence of malaria reduced significantly due to the introduction of the indoor residual spraying programme in Tolon-Kumbungu, Savelugu-Nanton, West Mamprusi, Karaga and Gushegu between May 5 and July 12, 2008.
The Northern Regional Minister, Alhaji Mustapha Ali Idris, announced that the government would soon provide five polyclinics at Chereponi, Kpandai, Karaga, Junga and Tatale, to help improve the health status of the people in those areas.
"This new hospital is a manifestation of the close collaboration that exists between the government and its development partners,” he stated.
The Gushegu District Chief Executive, Mr Mahama Abukari, expressed concern about inadequate staff strength at the hospital.
"The doctor-patient ratio of 1:21,741 is not the best and as of now, we do not have a theatre nurse and an anaesthetist, which is a great challenge to surgical operations in the hospital,” he said.
Mr Abukari, however, observed that since the hospital was opened to the public in February, this year, patronage had been encouraging with outpatient attendance increasing from 3,886 to 6,467 but stated that malaria remained the leading cause of deaths in all cases.
The First Secretary in charge of Health and Gender of The Netherlands Embassy, Mr Marius de Jong, also confirmed that the level of patronage of the facility so far had been encouraging.
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Ghana Director, Mr Robert Hellyer, noted that the indoor residual spraying campaign for malarial control in the region had benefited about 500,000 people in five districts, adding that approximately $53 million would be spent on the President's Malaria Initiative for the next three years.