The MTN Ghana Foundation has handed over a new accident and emergency centre and administrative block completed at the cost of GHS 5,475,542.69 to the Bawjiase Polyclinic in the Awutu Senya West District in the Central Region.
The Bawjiase Polyclinic serves about 80 communities aside from Bawjiase within the district and beyond. It provides healthcare to over 33,000 people in the Central Region and parts of the Greater Accra region as well.
Speaking to attendees at the inauguration ceremony, the Board Chairman of the foundation, Prof. Franklin Manu, said that the previous facility had only 40 beds across seven wards, with the emergency ward being a single-room unit with only three beds. During times of overflow, the corridor was converted into an additional ward. Additionally, there was no operating theatre and inadequate office space for administrative staff.
“Ladies and gentlemen, quality healthcare is a fundamental right, yet it remains a dream for many in our country. Therefore, with a shared sense of purpose, the MTN Ghana Foundation and the management of the polyclinic embarked on a journey to transform the Bawjiase polyclinic into a modern healthcare center. After almost two years, we are here to hand over the Accident, Emergency, and Administration Block,” Prof. Manu said.
“The completion of the Accident and Emergency Centre as well as the Administration Block will help to alleviate some of these challenges and bring much-needed relief to the district. They will ensure that patients receive timely and quality care,” he emphasised.
Giving details of the facelift, Prof. Manu noted that the new block had facilities such as an operating theatre, an emergency ward, doctors' offices, an isolation ward, a recovery ward, a resuscitation point, and nurses’ and doctors' rooms. "In addition, there is a reception area, offices for accounts staff, nurses, medical superintendent, and administrator, a conference room, and a staff kitchenette. The facility has also been equipped with a range of medical equipment, including hydraulic patient stretchers, eater beds and lights, bedside lockers, drip stands, medicine trolleys and cabinets, an anaesthetic machine, a diathermy machine, patient monitors, oxygen concentrators, and surgical instruments,” he stated.
To ensure the facility's sustainability, the MTN Foundation, in conjunction with the polyclinic's management, would establish a maintenance policy and urged the management, staff, and users to adhere to these policies to preserve the facility.
The handing over of the new block forms part of the foundation’s commitment to achieving Sustainable Development Goal 3: Good Health and Wellbeing, as well as their contribution to achieving the WHO’s Universal Health Coverage in Ghana by 2030.