Tema, Sept 08, GNA -- Dr Kwaku Afriyie, the Minister of Health, on Wednesday stressed the need for hospitals to establish specialized trauma and critical care centres to cater for accident and emergency cases.

He said hospitals should be equipped with standardized equipment and have emergency management teams.

Dr Afriyie made the call at the Tema General Hospital where the Korean Ambassador in Ghana handed over an Accident and Emergency Centre (AEC) to the hospital as part of the hospital's modernisation programme. The facility was funded with a Korean government grant of 300,000 dollars.

The Korean Embassy initiated the Tema General Hospital Modernization Project as its contribution to the welfare of the residents of the Municipality.

Dr Afriyie said the facilities at the hospital would contribute to the implementation of the Ghana Ambulance Service (GAS). He appealed to hospitals to establish and strengthen collaboration with GAS in emergency response to reduce fatalities due to poor reception at the hospitals.

Mr Sang-Pal Lee, the South Korean Ambassador, mentioned his country's assistance to Ghana over the years and said this would continue. Dr Charity Sarpong, Medical Superintendent of the Tema General Hospital, said in 2002 the hospital recorded 5,000 accident cases at the Out-patient Department.

Dr Sarpong said the figure dropped to 3,992 last year.