The Member of Parliament (MP) for Ayawaso East constituency, Naser Mahama Toure has donated an ambulance to the Nima Government Clinic to enhance healthcare delivery in the area.

The gesture by Mr. Toure has now made it possible for the Clinic to own an ambulance, and noted that he would also in due time insure the medical facility.

The ambulance would ease the clinic’s difficulty in transferring patients, especially pregnant women, as they have worked without an ambulance of their own, which has over the years posed a challenge to them.

Speaking in an interview with The Chronicle after the presentation, he said: “The Nima Government Clinic needed an ambulance of its own, especially in situations where patients have to be transferred to other hospitals like 37 or Korle-Bu when necessary.”

According to him, for the clinic to have operated in so many years without an ambulance was “unfortunate”; something that ought not to have been the case.

Mr. Toure stressed that the unavailability of facilities such as an ambulance to aid the activities of the clinic has had a negative impact on its operations, adding that he had no doubt “the ambulance comes as a big relief to the clinic.”

He, however, appealed to the management to properly maintain the facility, so as to achieve the purpose for which it was handed over to them, thus saving lives and improving on healthcare delivery.

Receiving the ambulance, the Medical Director at the Nima Government Clinic, George Ahorlu, was very hopeful it would go a long way to boost the operations of the clinic.

He said the clinic, in the past, had to “leave patients to their fate” when they needed to be transferred to other hospitals, or by a taxi, which he argued was not the best practice.

“This will really enhance our work. When we have to refer patients to other hospitals, the patient would be more balanced, since oxygen and health personnel would be accompanying the ambulance, unlike when we have to use a taxi,” he noted.

Meanwhile, Naser Mahama Toure disclosed that he had awarded a contract for the commencement of the construction of a new edifice on the Nima Government Clinic premises.

The multipurpose structure, on which work has begun, is expected to have an administrative block and additional wards to ease the present congestion at the facility.

He said the facility, which was being constructed from the Ayawaso-East Constituency National Health Insurance Fund, would be completed by the close of 2016.