Formulate LI to make 37 Hospital a National Disaster Facility – Commander

Brigadier General Michael Akwasi Yeboah Agyapong

Brigadier General Michael Akwasi Yeboah Agyapong, the Commander of the 37 Military Hospital, has called for the formulation of a Legislative Instrument (LI) to formalise the status of the Hospital as a National Disaster Facility.

He said the LI should clearly define dedicated funding for emergency operations and regular simulation exercises.

Brig. Gen. Agyapong was speaking at the 37 Military Hospital 2018 WASSA in Accra.

The WASSA is held annually for management to interact with staff and take stock of operations during the year as well as strategise for the coming year.

The Commander of the Hospital recounted how hard the various departments have worked during the year to make the Hospital what it is adding; “Without your efforts there will be no Military Hospital.”

He said although the year had been very challenging, the Hospital had managed to see some growth by undertaking several projects to better the lives of patients.

The projects, he said, included the establishment of a Blood Bank, Anaesthesia Clinic and the renovation of the Labour Ward.

Brig. Gen. Agyapong said the Hospital’s clients continued to increase adding; “We see 6,000 patients per week.”

This, he said, had come with increasing challenges from worker fatigue to increased pressure on available assets.

“This requires that the welfare and motivation of our troops is paramount on our agenda. It is in this light that I applaud government on the 10 per cent salary increment across board and I hope we will see more of such uplifts in the coming years,” he said.

He said plans were afoot to complete the re-tooling of all departments in the Hospital.

Brig. Gen. Agyapong said the move to re-tool the Hospital was critical to sustaining the efficiency and capability of the facility in carrying out its mandate.

“We are still optimistic that the proposal to make the Ghana Armed Forces Medical Corps the forth service of the Ghana Armed Forces is receiving its needed attention,” he said.

Major General William Azure Ayamdo, the Chief of the Army Staff, noted that staffing, logistics and finance had been some of the challenges facing the Hospital.

He said during the year, 122 officers were added to the Medical Corps as a result of the short fall of the current manpower.

“We expect to add about 150 officers in the year 2019,” he said.

Major Gen. Ayamdo said government had approved some critical interventions in its quest to retool the Hospital in 2019 and that a new oxygen plant  was being procured to address the frequent interruption of oxygen supply at the facility.

He commended the staff for their hard work and charged them to make it part of their New Year resolution to be courteous to and caring for their patients.

Source: GNA

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