Volta Regional Hospital now Ho Teaching Hospital
The Volta Regional Hospital (Trafalgar) at Ho, has been upgraded into a tertiary Hospital and inaugurated as the Ho Teaching Hospital.
The ceremony was in fulfillment of President Akufo-Addo’s announcement last year of Cabinet’s approval for the upgrade of the facility into a tertiary facility to serve students of the University of Health and Allied (UHAS) and the people of the region.
Addressing the gathering, the Minister for Health, Hon. Kwaku Agyeman-Manu said it was the intention of the Ministry of Health to make the Ho Teaching Hospital a model teaching hospital.
In view of that, the Minister said, the hospital was selected to pilot the new Governance and Management arrangements being proposed by his Ministry to help address governance and Management issues confronting the existing teaching Hospitals. To facilitate good work relations between consultants, specialists, lecturers, and staff of both institutions, Hon Agyeman-Manu disclosed that a Memorandum of Understanding has been developed, which would be signed by the University and the Ministry of Health/hospital.
“This Memorandum shall become a prototype to be adopted by all Teaching Hospitals in Ghana”, he said.
Touching on accreditation, human resource, and equipment required for quality service delivery at the Hospital, he said, all the Health Professional Regulatory Bodies have conducted their assessment of the hospital, and their recommendations have been taken into consideration.
He assured the public of the Ministry’s resolve to address all gaps identified and work towards acquiring funds to expand the existing infrastructure and retool the Hospital for quality service delivery.
Hon. Agyeman-Manu announced that the Ministry of Health in collaboration with the Hospital would facilitate postgraduate training for medical officers, nurses, pharmacists, and allied health professionals to ensure there are adequate specialists to deliver quality health care.
The Volta Regional Minister, Dr. Archibald Letsa, praised the Health Minister for his tireless efforts towards the project, and announce that plans were underway for the establishment of a cardiothoracic centre at the Hospital.
He said the elevation of the Regional Hospital into a teaching hospital confirmed the government’s commitment to providing sustainable healthcare services for the people of the region.
The representative of the Agbogbomefia, Togbe Howusu XII, who is also the Awafiaga of Asogli State, commended the government for listening to appeals of the people, which culminated into the conversion of the Regional Hospital into a Teaching Hospital. He also appealed to the government to establish a new regional hospital.
The Vice-Chancellor of UHAS, Professor John Gyapong, appealed to the government to constitute the governing board of the hospital to provide strategic direction.
He said the University has had a long-standing relationship with the Ho Regional Hospital, and it is expecting a harmonious relationship between the school and the Hospital to promote teaching, learning, and research.
With the conversion, the Vice-Chancellor said, the two institutions would expect the arrival of top-level professionals and specialized care at the Hospital.
A six-member interim management board chaired by Dr. John Tampouri, the Acting Chief Executive Officer of the Ho Teaching Hospital was introduced.