Accra (Greater Accra), 19th July 99 ?

The government has now released funds for the construction of the Sunyani Regional Hospital, a project which was stopped in 1998 due to financial constraint, Mr Samuel Nuamah Donkor, Minister of Health, told Parliament on Friday.

He could, however, not tell the House how much has been provided.

Mr Nuamah Donkor said the intensive care unit component proposal of the project was very sophisticated and it was being revised to a day surgery unit and an accident and emergency centres appropriate for a regional hospital.

He explained that there is no intensive care unit in any of the regional hospitals, even the teaching hospitals do not have such units at the level where machines take over the functions of breathing, renal and blood circulation organs of patients, for example.

The Minister was responding to a Parliamentary question by Mr Emmanuel Baah-Danquah, NDC-Asutifi North, as to why funds have not been made available for the construction of the intensive care unit of the new regional hospital at Sunyani even though approval has been given for its construction.

Mr Nuamah Donkor said to offload the congestion at the Sunyani Regional Hospital, there are plans to create polyclinics around the municipality.

On what plans the Ministry has to upgrade the Mankranso Health Centre into a District Hospital, Mr Nuamah Donkor said it was the policy of the government to provide a district hospital in every district.

To this end, health centres in the remaining 35 districts are being upgraded into district hospitals in a phased manner.

In the case of Mankranso Health Centre, he said, the government had over the years, provided facilities for admitting patients and has established a laboratory and provided accommodation for the staff.

In addition, the Minister said the district assembly has initiated plans to further upgrade the Centre.

He said as soon as the civil works were ready, the Ministry would install the necessary equipment for upgrading the Centre into a district hospital.

Asked whether there is a resident doctor at Mankranso, Mr Nuamah Doctor replied in the affirmative, saying that a medical officer was posted to the Centre in 1995.

On the location of a district hospital, the Minister explained that every district is allowed to decide where the facility should be and the Ministry complies accordingly.

Where a district has more than one constituency, Mr Nuamah Donkor said in such a situation, the Ministry would build a district hospital at a location agreed on by the assembly while health centres are provided to support the district hospital.