Kumasi, June 16, GNA - Attendance at the Out-Patients Department (OPD) of the Old Tafo Hospital in Kumasi rose from 64,000 in 2002 to 93,000 in the year 2003, while maternity deliveries also increased from 463 in 2002 to 735 last year.

Dr Nana Adu Akumia, Medical Superintendent of the hospital who announced this, attributed this to the facilities and services provided at the hospital.

He was speaking at a durbar organised by the management of the hospital to assess the development and welfare of workers last weekend. Dr Akumia stressed that the hospital serves as a training centre for community psychiatric nurses in the region and that the medical students of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) also benefit from the dermatology training programme at the hospital.

The Medical Superintendent, however, said the hospital is confronted with problems such as the lack of wards to accommodate more in-patients.

He said the hospital has a vast land and was seeking for assistance from the Ministry of Health (MOH) and Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) to construct residential accommodation for workers of the hospital.

"In spite of the vast land, there is not a single residential accommodation for workers of the hospital", he added. Dr Kofi Asare, Ashanti Regional Director of Health Services, called on contractors working on hospital projects in the region to step up the tempo to complete them for use. He emphasised that the completion of the projects would enable the hospitals to take possession of the structures to facilitate quality health service delivery.

He commended the government for all that it was doing to improve health services and stressed the need for all stakeholders to complement the efforts.

Dr Asare advised developers to stop encroaching on hospital lands meant for expansion and development and also appealed to landlords to offer housing accommodation to health workers with moderate rent advances.

Dr (Mrs) Agatha Bonney, Kumasi Metropolitan Director of Health Services, urged the staff of the hospital to adhere to the code of ethics of the Ghana Health Services. She announced that the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA) has pledged to rehabilitate the psychiatric unit of the hospital, which is in a state of disrepair.

Dr Bonney commended management and staff of the hospital for their co-operation and unity of purpose and hoped that spirit of collaboration will be maintained.

Mr Eric Addai-Frimpong, acting Administrator of the hospital, called for the early mechanisation of the list of casual labourers working at the hospital.

Ten workers of the hospital were honoured for their sense of commitment and dedication to duty. 16 June 04