He said the hospital, apart from being a referral centre for regional and tertiary hospitals within the country, also has simulation centres to simulate various medical conditions.  President John Mahama said this when he inaugurated the phase one of the University of Ghana Medical Centre at Legon.

The 650-bed facility is the first of its kind in West Africa and second to only few hospitals in South Africa.  The ultra-modern hospital was conceptualised and began under the Late President John Evans Atta-Mills. The Government secured a loan facility from Harpo Alim Bank of Israel for the project.

President John Mahama said the University of Ghana Medical Centre had been designed to provide healthcare at the subsector of the tertiary level. He said the centre had a provision for walk-in patients who were desirous of having specialist consultations. He noted that some of the specialised services to be delivered by the hospital are Gastroenterology, Trauma and Orthopedics, Urology, Othumology, Ear-Nose-Throat, Cardiology, Dermatology, Neurology and Radiology and Accident and Emergency services.

President Mahama said initially the intention was to move the University of Ghana Medical School from Korle-Bu to the new facility but unfortunately some logistical constraints and other considerations did not make it immediately feasible.

He said some of the highly specialised training and part of the University of Ghana Medical School training would take place in the new facility while a part would be held in Korle-Bu. He said if they moved all the specialists and teachers from Korle-Bu it would also affect the hospital as a tertiary hospital.

President Mahama said part of the financing for the hospital included the training of technician and staff on how to run the hospital to fully utilise its facilities. He said the idea for the construction of the hospital was based on a business model that would be self-financing within a five-year period.

The facility also has a helipad that allows emergencies to be airlifted directly from the centre. President Mahama expressed the hope that the impact of the new University of Ghana Medical Centre on medical training would be enormous across the country.

 Professor Ebenezer Oduro Owusu, the Vice Chancellor of the University of Ghana, said the University of Ghana Medical Centre, at the sub-specialised level, would provide a platform for enhancing healthcare delivery in the country.

He said having a world class hospital which operated at a quaternary level required collaboration with reputable international medical centres adding that upon completion it would receive international accreditation.

He said the facility would serve as a national resource centre for the training of all categories of health professionals for the country.