Government To Fund Construction Of Ebola Isolation Centres

The government is to make available GH�100.000 for each of the regional hospitals in the country to facilitate the construction of Ebola Isolation Centres. The Tamale Teaching Hospital, as well as the Tema and Komfo Anokye hospital, are to benefit from additional funds for the establishment of Ebola Treatment Centres. The Minister of Health, Dr Kwaku Agyeman Mensah, who announced this in Tamale last Tuesday, added that work on the Tema centre was about 75 per cent complete and that it would be handed over this month. Part of the funds would also be used for the training of health personnel to equip them to contain the spread of the disease in the event of an outbreak of Ebola in the country. �We know Ebola would not come to Ghana since we are all praying against it,� he expressed hope but indicated that the nation had to prepare for any eventuality to contain the virus from spreading. Dr Mensah, who was on a day�s working visit to the Northern Region, also visited facilities at the Tamale Teaching Hospital including the Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) centre and later interacted with health personnel of the hospital who he entreated to offer their best as efforts were being made to support them in the discharge of their duties. Regional Minister Earlier at a meeting, the Northern Regional Minister, Alhaji Mohammed Muniru Limuna, said an �Action Plan� on Ebola had been developed to deal with a possible outbreak of the virus in the area. Among the strategies are the prevention of suspected victims of the disease from entering the region, provision of adequate Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), personal protection, intensive educational campaigns and the management and burial of victims of the deadly disease. The minister entreated the leadership of religious bodies in the region to consult each other so that together �we can come out with a blueprint on how to handle the situation of persons who may die from the disease.� Appointment of CEO In response to the appointment of a substantive chief executive officer for the TTH, the Health Minister indicated that an announcement would soon be made to that effect since a candidate had already been chosen after a thorough interview. He,therefore, called for harmony and co-operation among the staff to ensure the smooth administration of the hospital in order to provide effective health delivery to patients. Acting CEO The acting CEO of the hospital, Dr Prosper Akanbong, expressed concern over the inadequate residential accommodation for staff of the hospital. As a result, he said the hospital used about 70 per cent of its Internally Generated Funds to pay the rent of its staff. He also indicated that most of the experienced staff were now ageing and, therefore, due for retirement. Dr Akanbong, therefore, observed that if immediate steps were not taken to replace them, it would affect effective health delivery at the facility which was the only referral hospital for the entire northern sector of the country.