New theatre for Saint Patrick's Hospital commissioned.

Maase-Offinso (Ash), 22 Jan. '99 -

A new ultra modern theatre, an administration block, a duplex doctors' bungalow and seven-apartment nurses quarters for the Saint Patrick's Hospital at Maase-Offinso in the Offinso District estimated at 611 million cedis has been commissioned.

The hospital contributed 48 million cedis towards the project from its own sources while 563 million cedis came from Catholic Dioceses in Germany and Spain.

The hospital was started as a in 1951 by the Saint Louis Sisters from Ireland and was turned into a in 1955. In 1984 it was designated as a District hospital by the Ministry of Health (MOH) in recognition of the services it rendered to the community.

The 150-bed hospital has four wards for men, women, children and maternity, an X-ray department and a laboratory, as well as a midwifery school. Commissioning the projects last Tuesday, Nana Paddy Acheampong, Deputy Minister of Health, said the hospital will be maintained as a district hospital in view of the services it renders to the people.

Nana Acheampong said the Ministry has provided the hospital with a new static and mobile x-ray, and ultra-sound machines. Also under the Department for International Development (DFID) of Britain, support equipment worth about 330 million cedis were supplied between 1995 and 1996.

The Ghana Health Service and the Ministry will continue to share resources available with mission hospitals within the context of service contracts, he said.

The Right Reverend Peter Kwasi Sarpong, Catholic Bishop of Kumasi in a welcoming address said the contribution of the Catholic Church in the health sector has always been to supplement government's efforts.

He commended the government for assisting mission hospitals with the payment of salaries of the staff and appealed to the government to assist in other aspects of the administration of the hospitals since most of the mission hospitals cater for the rural population.

Bishop Sarpong said with the completion of the work on the new theatre the old one will be renovated and turned into an eye clinic while renovation works continue at the laboratory, pharmacy and x-ray sections.

Nana Wiafe Akenten the Third, Offinsohene, who chaired the function said the Offinso Traditional Council has adopted the male ward of the hospital and donated one million cedis for the provision of bed sheets, pillow cases and other items for the ward.