The maternity unit of 37 Military Hospital will be closed down for a routine fumigation exercise, a statement signed and issued by the Director Public Relations Capt Michael AddoLarbi has said.
According to the statement, the fumigation exercise will begin today May 11 to Wednesday May 18.
“The closure has become necessary to enable the hospital authorities to undertake a fumigation exercise as a remedy to any infestation of the unit,” it said.
It said the hospital will however be opened to the general public on Thursday May 19 adding that measures have been put in place to manage entitled cases during the period.
The statement said it regrets any inconvenience that the closure may havecaused its clients.
The hospital was originally established in 1941 by a British military officer, General George Gifford, as a military hospital to provide treatment for troops injured in the Second World War.
The hospital was later expanded and opened to the public, although the hospital continues to be staffed primarily by military personnel.
In 2011, during a national strike by doctors in public hospitals, the Ministry of Health donated GH ¢230,000 of medical supplies to the hospital to enable it to continue treating an increased number of patients.
During this 19-day strike, the number of patients admitted to the hospital doubled.[6]
In the aftermath of the 2015 Accra explosion amid the 2015 Accra floods, so many bodies were taken to the hospital that the morgue was overwhelmed. The explosion killed over 150 people.
In total, the hospital has around 400 beds. It has a 24-hour accident and emergency department and pharmacy. Its x-ray facilities are also available 24 hours a day.
Other departments include divisions for dental treatment, gynaecology, paediatrics and veterinary treatment.The hospital is also used as a teaching hospital for post-graduate medical students.
From 1991 till today the German company Hospital Engineering GmbH had significant participation in the phased development of the 37 Military Hospital and is responsible for the maintenance of the equipment.
BY TIMES REPORTER