The government has launched investigations into an alleged 3.303 million pound sterling contract fraud at the Sunyani Regional Hospital.

The amount was meant to build a 221-housing unit complex for staff of the hospital.

The previous government paid 1.75 million pounds out of the total amount to Messrs International Hospitals Group in 2003 for the project which should have been completed in 10 months. But till date no work has been done.

Vice-President John Dramani Mahama announced this on Friday in Sunyani, when he commissioned the Regional Hospital.

He said the government is determined to recover the money, so that it will build the complex to provide residential accommodation for all categories of health personnel working at the hospital.

Mr Mahama noted that the commissioning of the hospital was a clear manifestation of government's policy to promote and extend free access to good quality and affordable basic primary healthcare delivery service to all Ghanaians.

As part of this policy, he said government would also provide modern regional hospitals in Wa, Bolgatanga and Koforidua.

The Vice President said the provision of physical structures alone could not be solely considered as sufficient panacea to solving the health needs of the citizenry.

"Other challenges include putting in place sustainable systems and strategies to mitigate against the problems of malnutrition, poor sanitation, unsafe water, poverty, large inequity in access to quality health care delivery between the 'urban rich and rural poor as well as the perennial shortage of health care personnel," he added.

The Vice President noted that the government was concerned about the various challenges facing health workers and would do everything possible to make work and remuneration attractive to health professionals as a means of motivating them to curb the brain drain in the sector.

He said one challenge was the situation where many health workers refused to accept posting to rural areas resulting in about 80 per cent of doctors and pharmacists located in the urban areas.

Mr Mahama therefore appealed to them to accept posting to rural areas where their services were most needed, adding that, "the government is considering a restructuring of remuneration packages to give incentives and rewards to health workers who accept posting to the rural area".

He also urged the management of the regional hospital to continue to take good care of the state-of-the-art facility so that it would last for a long time.

Kwadwo Nyamekye-Marfo, Brong-Ahafo Regional Minister, assured the staff of the hospital that government was working hard to address their problems.

He mentioned the replacement of obsolete equipment with new ones.

Dr Elias Sory, Director-General of the Ghana Health Service, lauded the decision taken by the past NDC government to build three regional hospitals in 1996.

He explained that since the hospitals located at Ho, Cape Coast and Sunyani began operations, healthcare delivery in the country had been revolutionalised.

He commended the staff of the hospital for their hard work since the facility began functioning six years ago.

The hospital built in 2000 comprises 13 specialised units including eight operating theatres, radiology department, three X-ray units, automatic processing unit, image trans-intensifier and ultra-sound scan.