THE Minister of Health, Dr George Sipa-Adjah Yankey, has inaugurated an eye care centre worth GH¢ 600,000 at the Tema General Hospital to serve the metropolis and its environs.
The facility, which has the capacity to cater for about 2,000 patients weekly, was built by the Tema Lions Club with contributions from some institutions and private individuals.
The centre has features, including two waiting areas, consulting rooms, a screening room, operating theatre, optometry, treatment room and dark room.
Dr Yankey, in commending the club for supporting the hospital, announced that the Ministry of Health was in the process of turning the Tema General Hospital into a regional hospital and would, therefore, ensure that it received the necessary support in terms of equipment, human resource and funding for its operation.
He said the ministry would send a team of experts to undertake survey and assessment of the hospital regarding its upgrading to a regional status.
The Health Minister gave the assurance that it was the Government’s intention to make health care accessible to all Ghanaians in order to achieve results in its fight against infant and maternal mortality.
Dr Yankey disclosed that his recent visit to the Tema General Hospital had exposed some maternal problems, as a result, the ministry had sought GH¢4 million to put up a new maternity block for Tema and Maamobi, both in Accra, to ease congestion in the wards.
On the need to have facilities for eye treatment, he said conservative statistics showed that eye problems constituted a significant percentage of cases seen in hospitals around the country, indicating that it fell within the top 10 causes of patients attendance, accounting for over two per cent of cases.
Dr Yankey expressed concern that some people had suffered for several years, simply because there were not sufficient structures to cater for them when they fell sick.
However, he said the centre would help the ministry to meet some of its challenges, especially in the Tema area, where there was a large population with industries that had the potential for creating problems as a result of exposure and failure to adopt protective measures.
Dr Yankey disclosed that it was the hope of the ministry to turn the centre into one that would be capable of providing diagnosis and treatment and effective operative surgical services to develop and deliver comprehensive range of established treatment options in eye care.
The minister proposed the establishment of a public health outfit to help work towards promoting preventive programmes within industries and the communities in Tema and its environs.
He, therefore, called on those who would be working at the centre to demonstrate a high sense of professionalism and dedication towards patients.
The Superintendent of the Tema General Hospital, Dr Mrs Charity Sarpong, who was grateful to the Lions Club, said workers at the hospital had to work in a very deplorable state because the structures were weak with outmoded equipment.
Dr Mrs Sarpong appealed for support from organisations and public institutions in the metropolis to go to their aid as was done by the Lions Club .
The President of the Tema Lions Club, Mr Clement Torsutse, stated that it was the objective of the club to raise funds for the construction of an ultra-modern eye care centre for the people of Tema and beyond.
He expressed the gratitude of members of the club to all those who made various donations to enable the club to undertake construction of the project.
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