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The Korle Bu Teaching Hospital in Accra plans to transfer its current mortuary facility to the Accra Metropolitan Assembly.
The purpose is to repurpose it as a city morgue specifically for preserving unidentified bodies. This decision comes as the hospital is in the final stages of constructing a new mortuary, a project initiated as part of its centenary celebrations.
Dr. Opoku Ware Ampomah, the hospital's CEO, revealed this information during an interview with the Daily Graphic in Accra. He mentioned that the new mortuary project is being developed through a private-public partnership agreement.
Established in 1923 by Gordon Guggisberg, the then Gold Coast Governor, the hospital has marked a century of service since its inception.
Over the years, as the foremost teaching hospital in the nation, Korle Bu has achieved numerous milestones and successes..
Dr. Ampomah emphasized the necessity for Accra, as a major city, to have a dedicated morgue facility to handle unidentified bodies from various circumstances such as hit-and-run incidents, unidentified deceased individuals, and abandoned bodies. He highlighted that due to the absence of such facilities, hospitals like Korle Bu and Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospitals have been compelled to serve as default morgues, incurring expenses for refrigeration and mass burials, as well as bearing the cost of burial permits. Dr. Ampomah stressed that city authorities, responsible for collecting taxes like property rates, should take ownership of managing unidentified bodies.
Additionally, he pointed out the challenges faced by hospital pathologists who work on these unidentified bodies, often receiving minimal compensation or encountering delays in payment. Beyond addressing the issue of the morgue, Dr. Ampomah outlined several other projects the hospital plans to undertake, including the rehabilitation of the Endoscopy unit, construction of a Paediatric Oncology unit, establishment of a new 24-hour pharmacy annex, and the transformation of the Dietherapy unit into a Nutrition and Dietetics Department.
Furthermore, the hospital has organized a series of events as part of its centenary celebration, including public lectures, outreach programs, awards ceremonies, fundraising activities, remembrance day, a float procession, homecoming events, and an innovation summit.
Dr Ampomah appealed to corporate bodies and individuals to support the hospital in undertaking the projects.
Source: cometodaddy.xyz
