Korle Bu marks 90th milestone

A grand durbar has been held in Accra to climax the 90th anniversary celebration of Ghana’s premier health facility, the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, with a call on the health workers to use the laid-down procedures to address their labour issues.

The Minister of Health, Ms Sherry Ayittey, who made the call yesterday, stressed that “the health sector has lately been bedeviled with industrial action for more pay. I wish to urge all and sundry that it is important for us to use the laid-down procedures.”

Earlier, some members of Teachers and Educational Workers Union (TEWU) locked out some of the faculties of the hospital, including the University of Ghana Dental School, to press home their demand for the payment of their allowances.

Ms Ayittey was joined by the Board Chairman of Korle-Bu, Mr Edward Annan; the acting Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the facility, Reverend Albert O. Botchway; the Paramount Chief of JamesTown, Obrempong Nii Kojo Ababio, and the National Chief Imam, Shiekh Osumanu Nuhu Sharubutu, to cut an anniversary cake to mark the occasion.

Addressing the durbar, Ms Ayittey said the Ministry of Health was doing everything within its capacity to construct a new 6,600-bed medical centre with modern facilities at the hospital, as part of its quota to promote quality health care in the country.

Ms Ayittey said it was obvious that there was the need to overhaul Korle Bu, having served the people for 90 years, and explained that it was imperative for the government to start planning the future of the hospital so that it could serve the next generations of Ghanaians for the next 50 to 100 years.

That, she said,would require massive investment and reconstruction of parts of the hospital to bring it in line with modern standards.

“This is why the government has started investing and equipping Korle-Bu with new facilities. This will also require investment into the human resources of the hospital in order to encourage staff to go into sub-speciality training,” she added.

She appealed to the management of the hospital to eschew intolerable ventures and produce accountability, sustainability and dependability in its operations.

The acting CEO of Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, Rev. Botchway, said since its establishment in 1923, the hospital had served successive generations of Ghanaians in its capacity as a centre of excellence in healthcare.

Saluting all the forerunners whose toils and contributions had led to the growth and development of the hospital into a thriving health complex, Rev Botchway urged all staff, both past and present, to continue to make positive contributions to accelerating the fortunes of the hospital.

By Rebecca Quaicoe-Duho & Emmanuel Forson/Daily Graphic/Ghana