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01.11.2021 Article

Association of Health Service Administrators, Ghana: Recounting Some Aspects of the Journey so far- Episode 1

ASHANTI AND AHSAG ANNUAL CONFERENCES
By Mr. Kofi Opoku
Association of Health Service Administrators, Ghana: Recounting Some Aspects of the Journey so far- Episode 1
01.11.2021 LISTEN

This article is meant chiefly to instill the spirit of selflessness and teamwork among Health Service Administrators in Ghana. The Ashanti Region has just hosted the 44th Annual General Meeting/Continuing Professional Development (AGM/CPD) Programme of the Association of Health Service Administrators, Ghana (AHSAG). This is the 5th unprecedented time the Ashanti Region hosted the AGM/CPD of AHSAG since the mid-1980s. Before the mid-1980s, all AHSAG AGMs were held in Accra. The conference room on the top floor of the Surgical Block of Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital (KBTH) was usually the venue for the AGMs.

In 1985, the Northern Region led by Mr. Thomas Mensa assisted by the late Mr. E.T. Tidakbi hosted the Association’s maiden Executive Meeting outside of Accra. Mr. Mensa was the Regional Hospital Secretary for Northern Region at the time and the late Mr. Tidakbi was the Hospital Secretary of the then Regional Hospital in Tamale which is now the Tamale Teaching Hospital. The office of Regional Hospital Secretary now (Regional) Deputy Director Administration changed to the Regional Health Services Administrator later on. Other leading members of the Association participated in this executive meeting in Tamale in 1985. The junior members who were part of this historic meeting were Mr. Gabriel Adu (deceased), Mr. I.K. Appiah (deceased), Dr. Kwasi Addai -Donkoh and Mr. Kofi Opoku (the writer of this piece). Dr. Addai- Donkoh attended the meeting together with his boss late Mr. E. K. Ackon (deceased) from the Efia-Nkwanta Hospital while Mr. Kofi Opoku attended the meeting together with his boss Mr. Albert Asiedu Ofei from the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH).

The then Chief Hospital Secretary, Mr. M.O. France was equally at this historic meeting. Proposals from this meeting led to the change of the name of the post of Hospital Secretary to Health Services Administrator. Again, proposals from this meeting led to the withdrawal of postings of some colleagues that had been made without the input of the Chief Hospital Secretary who was the Head of the group in the Ministry of Health. Mr. France himself referred to the postings as lopsided.

Dr. Addai- Donkoh who is now AHSAG Council Chairman later on served 3 continuous terms as President of the Association from 1999 to 2005 after serving as Vice President for one term (1997 to1999). Mr. Kofi Opoku served as Vice President for 2 terms from 1999 to 2003. Indeed, it can be said that Dr. Addai-Donkoh served as President for 4 continuous terms. In 1997, Mr. Amponsa who was a senior colleague of ours elected in absentia as President of the Association whilst Mr Addai Donkoh (as he then was) was elected as Vice President. And it came to pass that the only thing that this new President did was to write to accept the new position and thank colleagues for the honour done him. And that was all that he did. He never organised or participated in any activity or programme of the Association. Indeed, he stayed in “absentia” just like his election in absentia was. Consequently, his Vice President, Addai- Donkoh found himself leading the Association from 1997 to 1999. At the 1999 AGM in Ho, Mr. Addai Donkoh had an overwhelming endorsement as the substantive President of the Association while Mr. Kofi Opoku was elected as the Vice President. The Association at the 1999 AGM in Ho then decided to stop electing any colleague in absentia again as part of the Executive Committee. This must be a good lesson for the Association both in contemporary times and in future.

Inspiration from the 1985 AHSAG Executive Meeting in Tamale

Inspired by how the Tamale Caucus of AHSAG organised and hosted the meeting of the Executives and other members of the Association in Tamale, Mr. Asiedu Ofei on returning to KATH discussed with Mr. Kofi Opoku the intention of hosting the bigger Annual Conference or AGM of the Association in 1986. It was going to be the first time the Annual Conference was going to take place outside Accra. It was also going to be the first time the Annual Conference was going to be a residential one. During the earlier Annual Conferences, members were only notified of the venue and the program lay out for the period of the Conferences. Members from outside Accra had to look for where they would stay and report to the venue for the Conferences.

Determined to replicate the successful hosting of the Executives by the Tamale Caucus without any contribution from the members, Mr. Asiedu Ofei and Mr. Kofi Opoku wrote to various bodies that transacted business with the fledgling KATH to support the hosting of the first ever Conference of the Association in Ashanti Region.

The Achampong Factor in the Establishment of Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital

The need to build Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital arose in 1952 and in 1954, the project was completed and named Kumasi Central Hospital which was operationalized in 1955. Subsequently, the Hospital was named after Komfo Anokye, a legendary fetish priest. Pursuant to the establishment of the School of Medical Sciences (SMS) of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi in 1975, the Hospital finally changed its name to Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH). KATH thus became the second Teaching Hospital established in Ghana, coming after Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital (KBTH).

If anyone deserves special credit for the establishment of the nation's 2nd Teaching Hospital, then no other person comes near the late General Ignatius Kutu Achampong, Chairman of National Redemption Council (NRC) and Supreme Military Council (SMC), the then Head of State of Ghana (1972 to 1978). According to Prof. J.O. Martey, the first Ghanaian Dean of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) School of Medical Sciences (SMS), a delegation from the University of Ghana Medical School (UGMS) went to see Gen. Acheampong with a catalogue of difficulties to discourage him from the idea of setting up a second Medical School in the country. They unsuccessfully tried to convince him that the funds for establishing the new Medical School could serve the nation better if used to expand the existing Medical School at KBTH. According to Prof. Martey, Gen. Acheampong told the delegation that he as a soldier believed that the catalogue of difficulties submitted might be true but that they should not be daunted by them. He told them that identifying difficulties correctly was a sure way of coming up with appropriate solutions to deal with them. The Head of State thanked the UGMS delegation and assured them that the 2nd Medical School would be established at KNUST. And lo and behold with that strong determination, the KNUST SMS started.

At a certain point in time Ghana had more graduates from the second Medical School serving in the country than from the Premier Medical School (UGMS). In fact, Dr. Ebenezer Appia- Denkyira (a former Director-General of Ghana Health Service) and Dr./ Mrs. Gloria Quansa Asare (a former Deputy Director General of the GHS) were products of the nation's 2nd Medical School (KNUST SMS). Another illustrious son of the KNUST Medical School is Prof. John Owusu -Gyapong (Pro -Vice Chancellor of University of Ghana as he then was) who is also the incumbent Vice-Chancellor of the University of Health and Allied Sciences. I shall return with episode 2.

Author

Mr. Kofi Opoku

Member, Association of Health Service Administrators, Ghana

(Former Director of Health Administration and Support Services, GHS)

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