The Komfo Anokye Maternity and Children’s block, which had been abandoned for about 45-years, pulled down and reconstructed by the Akufo-Addo led administration, is about 60% complete.
The President received this information on Monday, October 17, 2022, while inspecting the project, which is currently undergoing remodelling, as part of his four-day working visit to the Ashanti region.
After a JoyNews documentary on the building’s deplorable state aired in 2020, a series of activities were launched to remodel it.
The remodelling process began with the demolition of the structure after tests on the structural integrity of the building revealed that it was too weak to withstand the test of time.
President Akufo-Addo then, in May 2020, President Akufo-Addo cut sod for the reactivation of work on the facility with an assurance that the project would be completed within a period of 36 months.
Contract to remodel the KATH Maternity and Children block
The Health Ministry on November 6, 2019, employed Contract Construction UK Limited for the design, execution, and completion of works and the remedying of any defects, which included the re-modelling and completion of shell spaces for the existing building structure.
Subsequently, after the Contractor’s structural integrity report for the existing building structure, the Government decided to revise the scope of works in November 2020 to include a complete demolition of the old existing structure, and a redesign, construction and complete equipping of the new and modern mother and child health facility.
The revised contract also includes the provision of a 3-year maintenance program for medical equipment with training and technical assistance, procurement of medical and non–medical consumables, and the training of needed human resource training, technical assistance and mentorship programs.
The new design has 8 floors, 22 consulting rooms, 3 group consulting rooms, 2 consulting rooms for adult emergencies, 2 consulting rooms for Paediatric Emergencies, 3 Auditorium (45 seats, 43 seats and 145 seats), 5 seminar rooms (14 seats) and 506 Beds with the capacity to hold, 199 paediatric cots, 136 Paediatric beds, 19 birthing beds and 152 Adult beds.
Additionally, the block will also have 1 Obstetrics Theatre, 7 General theatres, Pharmacy, Dispensaries, Laboratories as well as Ancillary spaces.
Once completed, it will house an intensive care unit, a high-dependency unit, isolation rooms, and student lecture halls, with the capacity to provide catering services for staff, patients, and students.
The expanded work has also resulted in the ongoing reconstruction of the Station Basic School classroom block at the UDDARA Barracks, which is scheduled to be completed by January 2023.
Source: The Independent Ghana