General News of Monday, 16 February 2009

Source: GNA

Awutu chiefs promise to offer land for health facilities

Awutu Beraku (C/R), Feb. 16, GNA - The Awutu Traditional Council has promised to release enough land free of charge for the construction of a hospital and nurses quarters at Awutu Beraku any time the authorities are ready.

Currently the health facility at the newly created district capital is a Health Centre, resulting in serious cases referred to the Winneba Government and Korle-Bu Teaching hospitals in Accra. Nai Kwau Kurabi Clottey III, Omankrado of the Awutu Traditional, said this at a performance review meeting of the Ghana Health Service in the Awutu-Senya District. He said the council would ensure that people residing illegally around the Kasoa Health Centre would be ejected to give way for expansion.

In her annual report the District Director of Health Service (DDHS) in charge of the district, Mrs Patricia Bainson, said records from 22 health facilities in the district showed that malaria tops the list of Out Patients Department attendance. She said in 2008 malaria cases from these facilities were 32,022, representing 35 percent of the total number of cases reported at the OPDs.

Mrs Bainson said urinary track infection, hypertension and diarrhoea followed. She advised the people to register with the National Health Insurance Scheme and mentioned insufficient furniture and lack of transport as some of problems facing the facilities.