The GCB Bank Limited has refurbished and expanded the Judicial Service Clinic, in Kumasi, to cater for the health needs of judicial service staff and the general public.
The eight-bed ward facility, comes with a well-equipped laboratory, a well-stocked pharmacy with drugs to last for at least months, a consulting room and stores. It is complemented with the state-of-the-art equipment.
The highly resourced-refurbished clinic was sponsored by the GCB Bank, as part of its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).
The Chief Justice, Justice Kwasi Anin Yeboah, reckoned that having such facility will among others boost the morale of judicial staff, in the Kumasi Metropolis.
He observed that in spite of the proximity of the service to the major health facility in the Ashanti region, Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, there was the need to have a health centre dedicated to the staff of the Service where they could attend in case of emergency.
He said that the facility is not for the staff of the Service alone but also opened to the public, particularly the business community in the buzzing commercial area of Adum. The facility is expected to provide the necessary health care needs of the staff of the Service, lawyers and those who patronize the services of the courts, in the Metropolis.
The newly refurbished clinic, according to Justice Anin Yeboah, has been networked to provide paperless service thus reducing the use of paper and carrying of folders from one office to the other.
A consultant to GCB Bank Limited and a former Deputy Manager of the bank, Mr. Samuel Amankwah, stressed the importance of good health to productivity, wealth creation and economic development.
He said it was in furtherance of this that as Ghana’s first indigenous bank, “GCB Bank has invested substantially in the health sector over the years and the renovation of the Judicial Service clinic here in Kumasi is an example.”
He said, “we have the responsibility to help in driving Ghana’s development agenda to create a prosperous society for all.”
He said the judiciary was a critical arm of government deserving of every support and “furthermore, Adum where the clinic is located, is the nerve centre of the Judiciary in Ashanti Region. “
The Supervising High Court Judge for the Ashanti region, Justice Kofi Akrowiah, lauded the efforts of the Chief Justice and the GCB Bank, for helping to expand and refurbished the clinic for the staff from the previous two-room facility to its current status that could treat almost every cases.
He said from 2010 when the clinic was established, attendance has seen a steady rise from the initial 170 patients to 1,286.
Justice Akrowiah said with the upgrade and a medical officer as head of the team, “I believe it is going to help us to reduce absenteeism on the part of the staff on flimsy excuses of petty sicknesses and doubtful excuse duties.”
He, however, appealed to the Chief Justice and the Judicial Service to help solve the accommodation challenges facing judges and magistrates in the region.
He said out of the 15 bungalows in the metropolis for judges, “only five are habitable, the rest are in deplorable states. As a result, five of our High Court judges in Kumasi are currently in rented accommodation.
“This, in my respectful view, has security implications for such judges,” he said.
Aside from the accommodation challenges, he said there were also a lot of staff vacancies “which is impacting on our delivery.”
Justice Anin Yeboah undergoing physical examination at the Clinic, in Kumasi
Justice Anin Yeboah, being assisted to unveil a plaque at the commissioning of the Judicial Service Clinic, in Kumasi
