The Accident and Emergency Centre of the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) that was inaugurated in November last year will become fully operational by the end of this month.
When it becomes fully operational, it would not only provide efficient and effective emergency medical care for accident victims within its catchment area, but would also be a centre of research, as well as training centre for health professionals in the country and the West African sub-region.
The hospital authorities have sourced for medical training equipment estimated at $40,000.00 from St. Francis Hospital in Milan, Italy to build the capacity of medical officers at the KATH to enable them to become more efficient in handling emergency cases at the Accident and Emergency Centre.
The equipment, which would arrive by the end of the month, would facilitate the training of medical professionals in the country and the West African sub-region.
The KATH authorities are also applying for accreditation from the American Heart Association to enable the hospital to become internationally recognised as a centre for the training of health professionals.
The Chief Executive of KATH, Dr Anthony Nsiah Asare, who announced this during a two-day annual refresher course for selected anaesthesia nurses and medical officers in the country, gave the assurance that he would collaborate effectively with the American Heart Association to speed up the process of accrediting the KATH Accident Emergency Centre as a training centre for health professionals.
The annual refresher course was instituted eight years ago through the collaboration of the Directorate of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care of the KATH and the University of Utah in the United States of America.
Through the collaboration, a number of nurse anaesthetists have built their capacity, making it possible for them to support healthcare delivery in their respective health institutions in the country.
Dr Nsiah Asare explained that it was when the centre was accredited that it would be fully recognised by the international community in terms of building the capacity of health professionals through regular training.
He said the centre would also provide acute life support and National Ambulance Service for the training of emergency teams which would handle emergency cases during accidents.
Dr Nsiah Asare said the vision of the KATH to become a centre of excellence of international repute was fully on course, stressing that nothing would be left to chance for them to realise such dreams to provide quality health care for Ghanaians and those in the West African sub-region.
He said over the years, KATH had managed to move from a level of survival to a level where recognised healthcare institutions worldwide were willing to associate with them.
In his welcoming address, the Head of the Directorate of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care, Dr Gabriel Boakye, said the refresher course, on the theme “Updates in anaesthesia and cardio pulmonary resuscitation”, is relevant because it “aims at building the capacity of nurse anaesthetists and doctors not only to provide safe anaesthesia to patients, but also train other healthcare providers on basic life support”.
“We live in an era where cardiovascular-related sudden death and emergencies are on the ascendancy. We also live in an era where trauma-related morbidity and mortality are on the ascendancy. We are losing precious lives on our roads and homes and therefore human capacity building on basic life support is crucial in reversing this trend,” he stressed.
Commending the team from the University of Utah, especially their head, Dr Jeff Peter, “for being the pillar behind the organisation of these programmes”, Dr Boakye said the programme had helped to promote the practice of anaesthesia at KATH, and therefore urged the participants to fully concentrate on the refresher course to “enable you to go back to your stations and make positive contributions towards improving safety of surgery and the management of emergency cases and cardiopulmonary resuscitation in your respective health institutions”.
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