PRESIDENT John Evans Atta Mills has called on Ghanaians to exercise patience and have faith in the government, as it works to create opportunities that will ensure that the better Ghana dream becomes a reality.

According to him, what Ghanaians need now is what will keep body and soul together and to live dignifying lives, all of which his administration is aware of and is working hard to fulfill as promised.

The President was speaking in Tamale at a ceremony preceding the sod-cutting for work to commence on the construction of new buildings and rehabilitation of old structures at the Tamale Regional Hospital.

As part of the project, the hospital will see some expansion and the supply of hospital and administrative equipment, as well as the extension of technical support to the hospital to meet international standards.

The arrangement towards the expansion and rehabilitation of the Tamale Regional Hospital, which started some 12 years ago, is expected to cost the nation 43.1 million Euros.

The amount will be raised in three components; a grant and a loan from the Netherlands' government through the Fortis Bank of Netherland, as well as local cost which is expected to be raised by the government of Ghana.

Government, in the 2010 national budget, announced an amount of 3.5 million Ghana Cedis which government says is part of meeting its local cost towards the Tamale Teaching Hospital expansion and rehabilitation project.

The Tamale Teaching Hospital, then Tamale Regional Hospital, was commissioned in 1974 by the then Head of State and Chairman of the National Redemption Council, Colonel Ignatius K. Acheampong, as the major referral hospital for the three northern regions, and since then, the hospital has played that role and even contributed to the training of medical students of the University for Development Studies in recent time.

The hospital, in 1974, was to reduce the burden of the then Tamale Central Hospital which needed an expansion to meet the demands at that time.

Years on, the hospital has not have any major maintenance, neither has there been any rehabilitation, despite several promises from successive governments.

The construction of new buildings, rehabilitation and upgrading of the facility, as well as the supply of equipment and technical support to the hospital, has come 36 years after the commissioning of the hospital.

The President was hopeful that when the project is completed in four years time, the hospital can live up to its status as a teaching hospital.

He stated that this will ensure that medical students being trained by the University for Development Studies get much time at the hospital for practical work and also not embark on the long distance journeys to get trained at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology and the University of Ghana.

The Chief Executive Officer of the Tamale Regional Hospital, Dr. Ken Sagoe, in his welcome address, said the expansion of the hospital has come at a time the facility had deteriorated to the point of being described as a deathtrap by members of the public as well as staff.

According to Dr. Sagoe, the hospital has been expecting the expansion and rehabilitation works for 12 years, commending the President for fulfilling his campaign promises to the hospital during the 2008 campaign.

“Over the years, the hospital has suffered neglect and deterioration without maintenance works. The specialist staffing levels, physical infrastructure, diagnostic and therapeutic equipment and even resources to the hospital declined steeply.”

He mentioned some of the hospital's problems as lack of residential and befitting office accommodation and inadequate transportation to execute its duties as the referral hospital for the three northern regions.

He also appealed that there should be a further expansion to include a maternal and child healthcare center which can increase the hospital's bed capacity to 1000 and should also include an administrative block to befit the hospital's status.

Dr. Ken Sagoe also appealed to the government to facilitate the construction and operationalization of a radiotherapy center at the Tamale Regional Hospital which had already been started by the International Atomic Energy Agency as a project.

The Minister of Health, Benjamin Kunbuor, said Tamale is one of the fastest growing municipalities in the sub-region, hence the expansion and refurbishment project will ensure that sick people of any level are treated in the region, rather than traveling long distances to Kumasi and Accra for attention, so as to contribute effectively to the growth and development of the area.

The Minister of Health confirmed that there were some disparities in the health delivery in the country between the north and south, with most of the major indicators favouring the south.

The north has a low number of doctors, nurses, pharmacists and even some health facilities in the north do not have general doctors, let alone specialists.

“Health delivery has become very difficult and expensive for the poor in the north, unfortunately, the health insurance system that is to make things better is also faced with some challenges, major ones being claims management and issues of fraud at the Scheme level.”

He announced that efforts are being made to ensure that health practitioners are motivated to do more, and also attract and retain more health workers, especially specialists in the northern regions who will work in rural areas where their services are also needed.

“We will keep our eyes on some basic inputs without which our health facilities cannot function well. We talk about electricity, water and beds.

Some people are dying in health facilities because of electricity failure and lack of water. We believe that these, though basic, hold the key to the functioning of doctors and health workers.

There is the need to embark on a programme that will ensure continuous supply of electricity and water to all health facilities,” the Minister reiterated.

The work is expected to start soon and generate some local jobs in the municipality.

Meanwhile, some people have called for fair and open recruitment of workers for the project, adding that they should not be offered only to National Democratic Congress youth.

From Ebo Bruce-Quansah, Tamale