Koforidua, July 27, GNA - The Koforidua Regional Hospital has been asked to improve upon its communication system, to enable it to liaise with other health institutions to ensure effective handling of referral cases in the Eastern Region.

The Eastern Regional Director of Health Services, Dr Erasmus Agongo, who gave the advice, said there was the need to provide telephone numbers of specialists at the hospital and to make known consulting days.

Dr Agongo, who was speaking at the formal opening of a three-day mid-year review meeting of the Koforidua Regional Hospital on Tuesday, said this would enable health staff in the districts to contact specialists when referring cases to them.

The Director of the Hospital, Dr Daniel Asare, said that the aim of the review meeting was to enable the hospital to find out how far it had achieved the targets set by various units of the hospital during the first quarter meeting.

He said that the hospital had rehabilitated all the 12 fridges at the hospital morgue, improved the security fence at the hospital, refurbished the theater at the delivery ward and plans were far advanced to acquire equipment to improve upon the emergency ward.

Dr Asare said that by August this year, the construction of a walkway to link the Out-Patients Department (OPD) to the wards would start.

Dr Frimpong Boateng, head of the OPD and the Casualty Department, said the introduction of medical officers for early morning consultation at the OPD had facilitated work.

He said that the Department ensued that a medical officer and nurses were available at the OPD between 1500 hours and 2000 hours daily to provide consultation apart from the emergency services available at the casualty ward.

Dr Frimpong called for improvement in public education on the policies and practices of the hospital.