Accra, Sept. 9, GNA - The Korle-bu Teaching Hospital is to build a new 350-million-dollar hospital to replace the old one. The first phase of the hospital to cost 30 million dollars would be an ultra modern emergency centre that would house all medical doctors and pave the way for the old structures to be pulled down for new ones to be built.

Professor Reverend Seth Ayittey, Board Chairman of Korle-bu Teaching Hospital, who made this known in Accra on Wednesday when two institutions donated hospital equipment to the Hospital, said the entire project would occupy a 12-acre land.

The institutions are the Ridge Church, which provided six wheel chairs and two stretchers and the Feed the Hungry Canada, which donated a number of items including dialysis machines, x-ray, laboratory and physiotherapy equipment, birthing beds and incubators, hospital beds and operating room lights, tables and instruments valued at one million dollars.

Prof. Ayittey said the master plan, programme and project brief had been completed by Canadian consultants and what was left was the business plan, which would cost about 50,000 dollars. He noted that the feasibility report would be ready by October, while the Ministers of Health and Finance were sourcing funds for the project.

The Board Chairman said if everything fell in place, tender for the contract would be done in December so that work on the emergency centre would commence in April 2010.

The project time for the emergency centre is two years, he said, and explained that the redesigning of the hospital was to facilitate the economic use of the Hospital's land. The new hospital would handle all emergencies before patients are moved to the various departments. Captain Dick Gbesemete, Chairman of the Ridge Church Council, said the donation was part of the church's social responsibility and that the Teaching Hospital was chosen because of the quality health care it was delivering despite the odds.

Ms Heather Johnson, spouse of the Canadian High Commissioner in Ghana, said the donation was made possible through a Ghanaian-Canadian, Dr Setorme Tsikata, who was concerned by the great need for equipment and supplies when she volunteered her services at the hospital. Ms Johnson said she contacted Food for the Hungry Canada, a non-governmental organisation and asked for help. With the help of the Head of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology of the Hospital, Prof. Enyonam Kwawukume, Ms Maureen Mcteer, wife of the former Prime Minister Joe Clark, and Ms. Shirley Greenberg of Ottawa, 15,000 dollars for shipment of the donation was made possible. 9 Sept. 09