GOIL Company Limited, has intensified efforts to revamp public hospitals with donation of over 1,000 hospital beds and mattresses to the Ministry of Health for onward re-distribution to the regions.

The beds had special features both for the comfort and well-being of the patient and for the convenience of health care workers, adjustable height for the entire bed, the head, and the feet, and adjustable side rails.

It also included; children, delivery and the normal hospital beds.

Mr. Kwame Osei-Prempeh, GOIL Acting Managing Director and Group Chief Executive Officer who presented the beds to the public hospitals through the Ministry of Health in Accra said it cost GHC1.458 million.

He said the beds and accessories were expected to ease conditions at the various public hospitals and to help to reduce the incidence of patients sleeping on the floors of some of the hospitals.

He said GOIL made a similar donation to the Ministry of Health in 2017, which were handed over to over 120 hospitals countrywide and the GOIL’s support to Health institutions in particular was a crucial part of the company’s Corporate Social Responsibility agenda.

The purpose of the donation, he said, is to make a difference in the lives of patients and improve patient health care in general.

GOIL, he noted, would continue to care for communities it operated in adding that the donation was demonstrated that beyond business and profits, GOIL was socially responsible.

Mr Osei Prempeh told the Ghana News Agency in an interview after the presentation that patients deserved better and GOIL decided to join government to promote well-being of our patients.

He said as the foremost indigenous OMC, “we believe that the best promotional package is to share profit with the people who helped pushed us to the high point in the industry”.

He said patients' well-being was a joint responsibility - family, health facilities, health practitioners, government, corporate world and the community; 'we must all join resources to ensure that we create a healthy environment at our hospitals for both patient and health practitioners'.

Ms Tina Mensah, Deputy Minister of Health who received the beds on behalf of the sector Minister commended GOIL for contributing to the socio-economic development of the health sector.

She said GOIL's gesture would boost Ministry of Health's mission to promote health and vitality through access to quality health for all people living in Ghana using motivated personnel.

Ms Mensah also lauded GOIL for its purposeful role in the economy saying the company had over the years demonstrated its aim of investing its earnings into society to benefit the people and said the government's policy thrust was to reduce inequities to care and increase coverage, quality and use of health services so as to achieve a healthier national population.

She explained that to improve the health status of all people living in Ghana through effective and efficient policy formulation, resource mobilisation, monitoring and regulation of delivery of health care by different health agencies, the ministry needed the support of corporate Ghana.

The items were jointly presented to the Deputy Ministers by Professor Azumah Nelson, Former World Boxing Champion and GOIL Brand Ambassador and Mr Osei Prempeh, GOIL Group Chief Executive Officer and other management members.

GOIL was incorporated as a private limited liability company on June 14, 1960 as AGIP Ghana Company Limited with the objective of marketing petroleum products and related products particularly fuels, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), lubricants, bitumen, and specialty products in Ghana.

The Government of Ghana in 1974 acquired the shares of AGIP SPA and Hydrocarbons International Holdings in AGIP Ghana Company Limited and by a special resolution in 1976 changed the name of the company to Ghana Oil Company Limited.