Ho, Oct 24, GNA - The 66th Artillery Regiment in Ho has commissioned the first phase of refurbishment and up-grading of its Medical Reception Station (MRS). The Station now has a new operating theatre fitted with new equipment, dental and x'ray units, ECG diagnostic system, a renovated laboratory with new and sensitive equipment, refurbished wards, medical store and a dispensary, among others. The project, which was financed by the German government, through the German Military Advisory Team in Ghana under the German -Ghana Cooperation Pact, cost 187, 257 Euros. Lt. Colonel Emmanuel Kotia, Commander of the Regiment said the second phase of the project, comprising renovation of the maternity block, nursing sisters and nurses' accommodation, provision of a standby generator and an ambulance would commence soon. He appealed to the German government which would provide funding, to consider providing ophthalmologist equipment such as slit lamp and also equip a room reserved for a physiotherapy department during the second phase to bring the Station to the status of a full hospital. Lt. Col Kotia said the upgraded medical Station would go a long way to enhance the desire of the regiment to further promote civil-military relations in the Ho municipality and the region as a whole. He expressed gratitude to the Volta Regional Hospital for releasing a Medical Doctor to see patients who call at the station. He also praised Defiat Development Company, contractors on the job, for working to schedule.Mr Albert Kan Dapaah, who jointly commissioned the project with Dr Marius Haas, German Ambassador to Ghana said the refurbished facility was properly sited to serve the health needs of the Recruits Training School, which might be relocated to somewhere near Ho. He said the German government had accepted to renovate other Medical Reception Centres besides other projects it had already funded for the military, including the Kofi Annan International Peace Centre, and accommodation at selected military camps in the country. Mr Kan Dapaah described the state of German-Ghana bilateral cooperation as tremendous, giving the hint that German support for the military would continue for sometime. Dr Haas who also reiterated the excellent Ghana-German relations, observed that planners of military services often under estimated the value of medical facilities for troops. He stressed that medical services for troops and their families represented a major morale booster for them. The refurbished Medical Centre is the third project to be commissioned at the 66 Artillery Regiment within the last 18 months, the others being a nursery and a water reservoir. 23 Oct 08