He said government would continue to make the 37 Military Hospital relevant to befit its status as a National Emergency Centre and a UN Disaster Referral Hospital. The Minister said this in Accra to mark the 75th Anniversary celebration of the 37 Military Hospital.

The anniversary was on the theme: “Celebrating our Legacy, Progressive Future and Ensuring Quality to our Clients.”   He said government, through the ministries of Health and Finance, would support the 37 Military Hospital with the needed financial resources to enable it to engage all key stakeholders to craft a new management model to be an independent centre of excellence.

“It was imperative to practically contribute our quota to make the 37 Military Hospital the best healthcare provider in the country and West Africa,” he said.  He urged stakeholders to show commitment in making contribution to the Hospital as it journeys towards the next 25 years to position Ghana and West Africa to improve healthcare.

“We cannot be weary nor demoralised by the current situation because out of this lies the capacity to emerge a 2000-bed hospital that generates its own resources without primary dependence on the state,” he said.  He encouraged the staff of the Hospital to improve on the quality and breadth of services rendered to save lives and lauded them for their contributions over the years.

The Hospital was commissioned on July 4, 1941, to provide quality healthcare to service personnel and their families and the public. It currently provides services for about 24,000 patients. The Minister inspected a parade made up of the Air force, Navy, Army and civilian health workers as part of the anniversary.

Present at the event were ministers of state, and medical officers from South Africa, Turkey, Democratic Republic of Congo and United States of America.