UG Medical Centre to recruit additional 2,000 workers – Health Minister

The Finance Ministry has given clearance for the employment of some 2,000 health personnel for the University of Ghana Medical Centre.

According to Health Minister, Kwaku Agyemang Manu, this is part of efforts to fully operationalise the facility to cater for the health needs of Ghanaians.

“About three weeks ago we started accessing funds, monies for medicines, clothing and other amenities to operationalise the wards. As I speak we have got financial clearance for 2,000 health professionals and we are already recruiting, the adverts were in the papers not long ago.

We and the interim management committee have decided to operationalize on phase bases such that we don’t create a chaotic situation in that huge hospital by trying to operationalize all the units at the same time. So we will do it on a phase by phase bases. Now we have the OPD working and very soon the mother and child unit.”

Promises to scale up operations

The University of Ghana Medical Centre started to provide health delivery services to patients in November last year.

Currently, the hospital offers out-patient services in only three units covering the pediatric, gynecology and family medicine departments.

There were challenges with the operationalization of the hospital due to a tussle over whether the government or the University of Ghana should manage the 615-bed facility.

It is believed that government had struggled to raise funding to keep the facility running.

Following a visit by some Minority MPs to the centre, it emerged that the roll-out of phase two will take full effect in November.