AUTHORITIES of Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH), in collaboration with the University of Michigan and the Ghana College of Physicians and Surgeons (GCPS), has started a residency programme to train physicians to handle emergency and acute heathcare needs of patients.
The hospital authorities are also developing an ultra-modern eye centre estimated at $620,000 to provide ophthalmic care of international standards for patients with eye defects
The Chief Executive of KATH, Professor Ohene Adjei, who announced this during their annual performance review workshop in Kumasi, explained that the newly constructed Accident and Emergency Centre at the KATH would be used for the training of the medicine physicians.
He pointed out that the exercise was meant to build the capacity of the trainees adequately in order for them to handle the emerging health care needs of patients within the catchment area of the hospital.
“The hospital aims to turn out the first batch of emergency physicians in sub-Saharan Africa with the requisite skills to provide world-class emergency and acute care in the next three years,” he explained
On the eye centre, he said “a critical facility scheduled for construction at the hospital this year is a stand-alone ultra-modern eye centre,” explaining that “with the help of the Himalayan Cataract Project and the USAID, work will commence soon on the construction of the US$620,000 project to provide ophthalmic care of international standards to eye patients.
The annual performance review workshop is a platform for the KATH authorities to take stock of their operations in 2009 and devise means towards achieving better service delivery targets for 2010.
Prof. Ohene Adjei also announced that last year, the hospital established a family planning medicine centre“ to strengthen the hospital capacity to meet the huge clinical burden placed on it by virtue of its strategic location and wide catchment area”.
On infrastructure, he said renovation work estimated at GH¢172,000 was started at the Psychiatry Block of the hospital as a way of creating “more congenial working environment in the wards and consulting rooms“.
He said construction of the Maternity and Children’s Block of the hospital, which started 35 years ago, was, however, far from completion and, therefore, appealed to the government to secure the requisite funding that would enable them to complete the project by the end of the year.
He explained that the early completion of the project “will immensely reduce the unacceptable high mortality rate of the hospital”.
Prof. Ohene Adjei also announced that as part of his priorities, his administration had made provision of a back-up system for water and power.
“We have tendered for an expression of interest for consultancy services for a project to increase the hospital’s water reservoir from 65,000 gallons to 200,000 gallons. The hospital has also awarded a contract for the interconnection and automation of the 2.2 MVA emergency power plant to the Accident and Emergency Centre at a cost of GH¢113,000. This will help provide a round-the-clock power supply to the centre when the national grid fails,” he explained.
He said as part of the measures for enhancing quality service delivery, the hospital would replace “the ageing equipment, especially the X-Ray and the laboratory equipment which are no longer in a position to cope with the pressure from the ever-growing demand of patients”.
He, therefore, called on the staff to strive to adopt a new culture that would put the interest of patients above all interests to win their confidence.
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