Gov will invest $250m in Korle-Bu -Veep

Vice President John Dramani Mahama has said that the government would spend $250 million on the recapitalisation of the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital.

He said a chunk of the money would be used in acquiring medical tools and equipment to make the hospital more functional.

The Vice President announced these at a ceremony for the commencement of work on the Lions International Eye Centre at the hospital.

The $60 million facility, which is sponsored by Lions International, Moorfields Eye Hospital, U.K, and other partners, would become the centre for quality eye care for Ghanaians and the West Africa sub-region.

Vice President Mahama said the Eye Clinic would benefit from the retooling, and urged the hospital officials to ensure that all projects were executed on schedule.

He commended Lions International and other partners for their contribution towards the projects, and gave the assurance that the government would support the project to ensure its early completion.

Emeritus Professor E.D. Yeboah, who spoke on behalf of Professor Bomi Ogedengbe, President of West Africa College of Surgeons, expressed happiness over the project, which, according to him, would provide world class eye care, practical training for instructors and specialists at the centre.

He said the centre would be used for research into eye disorders and prevention. Emeritus Prof. E.D. Yeboah noted that the sub-region had about 2.6 million blind people, and more than 2.6 million suffering from conditions leading to preventable blindness.

He expressed hope that the Eye Clinic project, if completed, would provide specialist manpower and resources to deal with eye problems.

'The hands on specialist skills training have begun about 18 months ago, with high standard modular courses in basic instrumentation, basic skills, cataract and corneal surgery by expert teachers from Moorfields and other centres to our trainers and consultants for future teachers, specialists in Ghana, and the sub-region,' Emeritus Prof. E.D Yeboah said.

Prof. Nii Otu Nartey, Chief Executive of the Korle-Bu Hospital, commended Moorfields Eye Hospital for their collaborative efforts to raise funds for the project, and Lion Club International which also supported the project.

He said the future of tertiary and quaternary eye care in the country was assured, and the dream of making the centre a place of excellence for the sub-region would be a reality.

Meanwhile Ernest Best Anane reports from Kumasi that Mr. George Oppong Dankwah of the Strategy and Corporate Affairs Division (SCAD) of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) has disclosed that 18 million out of the total population of the Ghana have registered with the NHIS.

He claimed that the scheme was still in progress in negation of claims that the scheme had collapsed.

He said at a sensitisation programmed in Kumasi recently that the Capitation, widely seen as a deliberate attempt to kill Ashantis, had nothing to do with the NHIS.

According to him, special cases like maternity and breast cancer had been removed from the capitation, and could be treated at any specialised hospital.

He also denounced claims that patients who opt for capitation cannot access health delivery in any other hospital, apart from the chosen facility for the capitation.

Mr. Dankwah advised the public to take along their Health Insurance cards when traveling, to enable them access health care whenever they travel to any new destination.

He explained that the Ashanti Region was chosen for the pilot of the capitation policy, because it had the highest number of government and private hospitals, as well as having the highest number of ethnic groups, highest subscribers, was the most highly populated region in the country, and that the capitation programme would be extended across the country by the close of the year.

According to Mr. Dankwah, the initial complaints by private hospitals had been resolved, and appealed to all service providers under the capitation to cooperate with the NHIA to make the exercise succeed.