Apam (C/R), April 8, GNA - An accident and emergency centre, the initiative of Dr Ebenezer Amekah, Acting Medical Superintendent of the Apam Catholic Hospital Hospital, and a couple Ton and Charlotte Bakker of Holland, has been inaugurated at Apam. Estimated at 150,000 Euros, the project attracted sponsorship from Ghana Coop, a cooperative society of Ghanaians in Italy, Building Solid Foundation, a non-governmental organisation (NGO) in Pennsylvania and GE Health Care also NGO in the US.

Speaking at the ceremony Dr Amekah said Mrs Charlotte Bakker, a nurse, came to the hospital as a volunteer in 2006 and after her service she requested to know what help she could offer the facility and they settled on an accident and emergency centre. On her return to Holland, Dr Amekah said, Mrs Bakker supported by her husband solicited funds from friends, well-wishers and organizations for the project.

"Ghana Coop and the other sponsors realizing the importance of the project decided to lend their support", he said. Mr Ton Bakker, who came down with Charlotte to take part in the inauguration, described the centre as "magnificent and wonderful" and added "I wish those who donated money for project were here to see what the little contributions they made was able to achieve". He commended staff of the hospital on how they judiciously utilized funds for the project and appealed to them to ensure regular maintenance of the equipment.

The couple donated equipment worth over GHC 13,000 to the centre. They included suction machine, oxygen concentrator, theatre lamps and a microscope for testing malaria and tuberculosis parasites.

Ms Gifty Ankrah, Gomoa West District Director of the Ghana Health Service, expressed concern about the upsurge in road traffic, home and occupational accidents in the district. She said in 2006, 235 road traffic and 546 home and occupation accident cases were recorded but the number shot up to 465 and 824 respectively in 2008.

She said the centre was one of the most important facilities the hospital had acquired as it is situated in an accident prone area and commended the sponsors. Monsignor James Robert Myers, the Vicar-General and chairman of the Cape coast Archdiocesan Health Committee, expressed worry about poor maintenance culture of Ghanaians which he said was retarding progress. Mr Fred Addae, Gomoa West District Co-ordinating Director, said the assembly would continue to support the hospital, the only one in the district, to expand to enable it to render health delivery services to the people.

Nana Owusu Boampong, Deputy Regional Director of the Ghana Health Service, commended the Catholic Church for playing a leading role in health delivery in the Central Region. Nana Edu Effrim X, Apaahene, appealed to the government to establish a nursing training school at Apam to train more nurses.