Kumasi, June 08, GNA - Professor Kwasi Kwafo Adarkwa, Vice-Chancellor of Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) on Thursday inaugurated a 440 million-cedi refurbished pharmacy for the KNUST Hospital in Kumasi with a call on the hospital's staff to treat patients with utmost respect and dignity.

He said the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) coupled with increase in students in-take at the university and the sprawling peripheral communities within the hospital's catchment area, required an expansion of its facilities that were being over-stretched. Professor Adarkwa noted that increase in patronage had affected quality of health delivery and status of the hospital but was optimistic that with the university's programme to expand facilities at hospital, quality of health care delivery would improve.

He said as part of strategies to improve quality of health care delivery, a new clinic solely for students was inaugurated recently to ease the pressure and congestion at the hospital. Prof Adarkwah expressed appreciation that the refurbished pharmacy would provide 24-hour services and stocked with more drugs to serve its clients.

He said this would help avoid the situation where patients who could not afford expensive drugs in the open market either refused to purchase them or threw away the prescription to aggravate their illness.

Dr Yaw Bio, Director of the hospital, commended the university authorities for their assistance to the hospital. However, he appealed for more computers to enhance operations of the pharmacy. The maiden edition of the hospital's quarterly newsletter was also launched.