The First Lady and Head of The Rebecca Foundation, Mrs. Rebecca Akufo-Addo has cut the sod for the construction of a new Pediatric Intensive Care Unit at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital in Accra.
The new project will replace the old Children's block which for so many years, had been working under severely tough conditions with deplorable facilities, extreme congestion and lack of adequate equipment making treatment extremely difficult and in urgent need of a face-lift to provide optimum care for children.
First lady Rebecca Akufo-Addo who spoke at the brief sod-cutting event, said “there is nothing more painful or tragic than losing a child. Every parent knows that. We know that tragedy happens sometimes, but when it does, at least we need to assure ourselves that we did all we couldâ€.
According to Mrs. Akufo-Addo, the project is birthed out of two requests made to the Rebecca Foundation by the management of the hospital when she launched the International Childhood Cancer Day last year.
The requests included the construction of a hostel for parents of children on cancer treatment which is progressing steadily and the need for a new Paediatric Intensive Care Unit.
“Since last year, the Rebecca Foundation has been in discussions with the management of the hospital, to build a modern fully equipped Paediatric Intensive Care Unit for the Children’s block. This is a facility that is urgently needed to save the lives of our precious childrenâ€, She said.
She added that Korle-Bu's status as a leading referral centre in West Africa requires the need to make sure the quality of care is absolutely the best in our sub-region.
On the nature of the facility to be built, she said, the facility will be energy efficient and will apply the same green technology used in the Komfo Anokye Mother and Baby and Paediatric Intensive Care Units.
The First Lady noted the project will be completed in record time.
“We all expect our health staff to be professional and do their best. And this is right. But no matter how professional, experienced or dedicated they are, they cannot work without the right resources and that includes space and equipment. Hopefully this unit will help our health professionals, deliver quality healthcare to our childrenâ€.
She further urged the Ministry of Health, the Ghana Health Service and the board and management of Korle Bu to ensure that they provide the numbers and calibre of staff essential to quality service delivery at the new unit.
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