The University of Professional Studies, Accra has taken delivery of an ambulance by the kind courtesy of Access Bank Ghana. This is in fulfilment of a long-term commitment to the university.
Handing over the keys to the university, the Divisional Head of Retail Banking at Access Bank, Mr Stephen Abban said his outfit and UPSA have remained strategic partners for years – a relationship which has grown from strength to strength. He said it is in this vein that the bank decided to fulfill a long-standing promise to its partner in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic as part of the bank’s corporate social responsibility initiatives.
“We believe in giving back to society”, he said. “We know UPSA has a large student population and large staff base. We therefore believe the Clinic they have here would need an ambulance in order to serve the whole university community.”
The Vice-Chancellor of UPSA, Professor Abednego Feehi Okoe Amartey expressed his delight at the gesture and thanked the management and staff of Access Bank.
Prof Amartey recalled that in 2017 the authorities of UPSA petitioned the bank to support the university’s healthcare delivery after a performance audit of the University Medical Centre. The VC revealed that the ambulance has arrived at the most appropriate time, considering the coronavirus pandemic which has forced all educational institutions to be temporarily shut down.
“This is the best time for us to have an ambulance because we are in the midst of a global pandemic,” he said. “Even though by the grace of God, no UPSA staff or student will contract the covid-19, it is imperative we take precautionary measures.”
Prof Okoe Amartey assured the donors that the ambulance will be put to effective use.
UPSA’s Medical Director, Dr B.T. Dornooo noted that with a student and staff population of over 14,000, the presentation of the ambulance will go a long way to improving health service delivery within the university community.
“This will help save lives,” he said. He noted that transportation of patients is very critical to their survival, hence the gesture by the bank was timely.
