The University of Cape Coast has set the pace by becoming the first higher education institution in the country to establish an Ambulance Service Centre.
The establishment of the Centre is in partnership with the National Ambulance Service.
Director of the University Health Services (UHS), Dr. Evans Ekanem
Dr. Ekanem further said that the UHS in conjunction with various faculties was currently involved in the training of some cadre of health workers - doctors, physician assistants, nurses, midwives, pharmacists, radiographers, sonographers, dieticians, optometrists and laboratory assistants.
He described as exciting the partnership with the National Ambulance Service leading to the establishment of the Ambulance Centre at the University which will enhance the transportation of patients to other health facilities for treatment.
“The hospital must rely on other facilities such as the Cape Coast Teaching Hospital and the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital for referral cases and this requires the availability and the use of ambulances and we are therefore excited … launching this partnership with the National Ambulance Service” Dr. Ekanem noted.
Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Johnson Nyarko Boampong
In his address, the Vice-Chancellor of the University, Prof. Johnson Nyarko-Boampong, mentioned that from humble beginnings, the UHS had chalked an imposing feat as the preferred health facility within the Cape Coast Metropolis and beyond.
He noted the hospital had the vision of expanding its range of services by providing an enabling environment to attract and maintain specialists in other points of healthcare leading to an upgrade of the UHS to a secondary healthcare facility.
Prof. Nyarko Boampong reiterated the benefit the Ambulance Centre presents to UHS considering the poor state of the two ambulances the University owns.
He took advantage of the platform to extend an invitation to the persons present to participate in the grand durbar of the University’s 60th anniversary.
The CEO of the National Ambulance Service, Prof. Ahmed Zackaria, has recommended to the University of Cape Coast the introduction of a Basic Life Support Training course for students of the University.
Speaking as the guest speaker at the inauguration of the Ambulance Service Centre, he said with UCC making its mark as an institution setting the pace as the pioneer in several fields, inculcating a Life Support Training course into the programmes of all students will ensure these students graduating with the requisite knowledge in life support.
Prof. Zackaria added that the establishment of the Ambulance Centre at UCC was an addition to the general emergency response system in the metropolis and its surrounding districts to reduce the spate of human lives lost in times of emergencies.
The ceremony also saw the inauguration of an ambulance by the CEO of the National Ambulance Service and the Vice- Chancellor of UCC.
Present at the commissioning were the Pro Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Rosemond Boohene who also is the board chairperson of UHS; Registrar, Mr. Jeff Teye Emmanuel Onyame; Central Regional Director of Health Services, Dr. Akosua Owusu-Sarpong as well as Provosts, Deans, Directors and the representatives of labour unions at UCC.
University of Cape Coast Hospital
The Directorate of University Health Services (DUHS) began as a clinic in 1963, attached to the Adehye Hall to cater for the health needs of students, staff and their dependents. It is now one of the Directorates of the University of Cape Coast and consists of the University Health Services (UHS) and the Environmental Health Services (EHS).
The Directorate is governed and regulated by the University Health Services Committee (UHSC) under the chairmanship of the Pro- Vice-Chancellor of the University with representatives from Academic Board, Convocation, Central Regional Health Directorate, Senior Staff Association of Universities of Ghana (SSA-UoG), Tertiary Education Workers’ Union (TEWU), Graduate Students’ Association of Ghana (GRASSAG), the Student Representative Council (SRC) and DUHS.
It is licensed as a primary healthcare facility by the Health Facility Regulatory Agency (HeFRA) of Ghana. The facility is a member of the Ghana Association of Quasi-Government Health Institutions (GAQHI).
Source: Documentation and Information Section-UCC