The conference centre project, which was started more than 15 years ago but stalled due to financial constraints, has now been completed and will host all significant conferencing events, seminars, meetings, and has administrative offices for the directorate, among important services it will provide.

The new facility will also be made available to the general public for use, which will aid the directorate to raise money for both internal and relevant projects in the region.

Speaking at the inaugural ceremony last Wednesday, the Central Regional Director of the GHS, Dr Akosua Agyeiwaa Owusu-Sarpong, who the block is named after, noted that the directorate had been in dire need of such a facility for a long time, but had been unable to fund its construction.

She said the directorate resorted to finding creative means of generating funds internally to put the abandoned structure back on course, after realising how important it had become to have an operational conference room to hold its major events.

"This facility was first started about 15 years ago, but due to financial constraints, it had to be put on hold, and using other facilities for our main conferencing activities was draining our coffers. So we made the decision to come up with creative ways to raise money from our healthcare organisations and other professional health groups, and we were successful in doing so within 15 months," she explained.

Dr Owusu-Sarpong said the facility would serve as a training ground for health professionals in the region, in an effort to raise the standard of healthcare provided.

Addressing the gathering, the Director-General of the GHS, Dr Kuma-Aboagye, urged experts to collaborate in order to increase the region's access to high quality healthcare.

He continued that if the facility was manned with due diligence and professionalism, the directorate would realise its mandate of delivering high quality healthcare in the region and the country as a whole.

Teamwork

He urged the directorate to work as a cohesive team, saying that this would give it the advantage and drive to complete more tasks in order to achieve its goal.

He stated, "this achievement marks a significant turning point in the region's healthcare service, and we anticipate that other regions will follow suit. I think the health directorate's collaborative efforts and ingenuity were responsible for making this idea a reality”.

Health professionals and stakeholders in the region celebrated the inauguration with elation as their long-held desire had finally come true.

Excitement

A former Regional Director of the GHS, Dr Aaron Offei, during whose term the initiative began, expressed joy that his lifelong desire had materialised.

However, he urged staff members to protect the facility and ensure that there was maximum maintenance so that it will serve its intended purpose for both present and future generations.

"It is really wonderful to know that the Regional Health Directorate, after such a long wait, has seen this facility come to life to aid in the delivery of quality healthcare in the region. I will urge all of us to observe a maintenance culture so that it wouldn't wear out in a wink," he stated.