The “Doctors Flats” at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) are set to receive a major facelift following the commencement of work to repair and paint them under a special project initiated by the hospital’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Prof. Otchere Addai-Mensah.

The take-off of the project was made possible by the decision of Neuce Paints Company Limited, one of the leading manufacturers of paints in Ghana, to donate all the painting materials needed for the blocks following a special appeal made to it by the CEO.

The flats, numbering 146 and housed in nine blocks, serve as the main residential facilities for doctors in the immediate vicinity of the hospital but had not received any major facelift for close to 20 years now leaving them in a decrepit state.

The Commercial Manager of the company, Mr. Manuel Oliveira yesterday visited the hospital to supervise the commencement of the painting works during which he also paid a courtesy call on the hospital Board.

Mr. Manuel told the Board that the company was moved to assist in the implementation of the facelift project because of the strong appeal made to it by the CEO. He said the walls of the blocks, which have been severely defaced over the years, would be well treated before the application of the paints under the close supervision of the company.

Prof. Addai-Mensah explained that during one of his numerous rounds of the hospital, he visited the Doctors’ Flats area and was shocked by the depressing state in which they have sunk because they have not been painted for close to 20 years.

“As a junior doctor in the early 2000s, I was staying in one of the flats which were in very pristine conditions so I was quite shocked to see the level of deterioration they have suffered due to lack of repairs and painting over the years” he stated.

Prof. Addai-Mensah said the donation of 174 buckets of high quality paints by the company has saved management a lot of money as the hospital would now only bear the cost of labour and scaffolds that would be needed for the application of the paints.

He said in appreciation, the permission of the Board had been sought to allow the company to use the side elevations for a few of the blocks for branding purposes.

Members of the Board commended the CEO for his intense lobbying drives for external support to improve the operations and facilities of the hospital since his appointment in December,2022.

The Board Chairman, Ambassador Nana Effah-Apenteng, who later led Members of the Board to inspect the project, thanked the company for its timely assistance and hoped that its gesture would mark the beginning of a long and mutually beneficial relationship between the hospital and the company.

The head of the Estate Unit of the hospital, Mr. Frederick Oppong, who took Members of the Board around the project during their visit said the first phase of the project which would be completed between the next two to three months would cover eight blocks. “However, that of the biggest block popularly called the “blue block” will be covered by the paint company in 2024.”

Source: Ghana/Sompaonline.com/Nana Yaw Boamah