Handed over by the Project Management Team (PMT) of the Ministry of Health (MoH), the second phase of the project added a setup and operationalisation of the second biggest Cardiothoracic Centre in Ghana, a molecular laboratory, dental services, bioethics and palliative Care Department and fluoroscopy services.

Others were the Assisted Reproduction unit Medical and Scientific Department (IVF), Medical and Scientific Research Centre (MSRC), additional eight-unit apartments for staff, Biohazard waste treatment building and waste dumpster.

This was contained in a statement issued by the centre and copied to the Ghanaian Times in Accra on Tuesday.

According to the statement, Dr Darius Osei, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the UGMC, at the short handing over ceremony said the centre, which had 1,000-bed Clinical Services section, a Medical Training and Simulation Centre and Research Centre, would serve as a central hub for local and international research.

“I am truly excited that Phase II of the UGMC has been completed in the midst of a pandemic of historic proportions,” he added.

The Director of Medical Affairs of the Clinical Services Section, UGMC, Dr Kwame Anim, said the section had engaged a number of consultants, specialists and sub-specialists with expertise in areas such as Sleep Medicine, Sex Dysfunction, Cardiothoracic Surgery, Urology, Endoscopy, Dermatology, Plastic Surgery, Neurosurgery, ENT, Dental and Ophthalmology for the benefit of the public.

Prof. Aaron Lawson, Director of the UGMC Medical Training and Simulation Centre (MTSC), also stated that the MTSC was well equipped to offer health and non-health workers training involving patient simulation, simulated clinical environments, simulated virtual procedure stations and simulated standardised patients.

He added that several other advanced training programmes for professional health workers were also available at the Centre.

The Director of the Centre’s MSRC, Dr George Kyei, for his part said it was time for Africa to use its own people, hence, the centre was opened for collaborations with other corporate entities, Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) and universities around the world.

“The UGMC has plans of becoming one of the best destinations for medical tourism in the sub-region and is, therefore, positioning itself to offer World Class Patient Care, Training and Research in Ghana, Africa and the world,” he added.

The UGMC is an ultra-modern medical centre offering world-class health services in Ghana, West Africa and beyond. It is located at the southern part of the University of Ghana, Legon, in Accra near the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research.

The Centre seeks to embody the spirit of hospitality which Ghana is globally acclaimed for, and is focused on the deployment of a client-centric approach throughout every facet of its operations.

The construction of the UGMC commenced in 2013, with its first phase inaugurated in January 2017. The Centre commenced partial operations in 2018. The second phase of the project began in 2019 and was completed in December 2021.