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06.01.2009 Education

KATH to become major training centre

06.01.2009 LISTEN
By The Statesman

Barely two months after the official commissioning of the ultra-modern National Accident and Emergency Centre at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital in Kumasi, the hospital has started negotiating with a number of international voluntary medical organizations and institutions to turn the facility into a major centre for specialist training for health professionals in the West African sub-region.

Already, the hospital has signed agreement with the Pathologist Overseas to use the Pathology centre for the training of pathologists and allied professionals.

Also, in collaboration with an Israeli based global emergency service and training group, EDVICE, plans are far advanced for the commencement of a 2-year post basic nursing training leading to the award of BSc in Emergency Nursing at the hospital.

Dr. Anthony Nsiah Asare, the Chief Executive Officer of KATH who disclosed these, further hinted that discussions with the University of Cape Coast for affiliation had reached an advanced stage, saying that when it was concluded successfully, it would be the first of its kind in the country.

Other programmes like Critical Care, Peri-Operative Nursing, would also be added in due course, he added.

According to Dr. Nsiah Asare, KATH is in dialogue with Emergency Medicine Department of the University of Michigan to start a residency programme for doctors in Emergency cases, while plans to begin a residency programme in Intensive Care was almost completed. 

 "Courses in Advanced Cardiac Life Support and Advanced Trauma Life Support will be organized on regular basis for doctors, nurses and other health professionals in the country and the sub-region', he said, adding that they were seeking accreditation from the American Heart Association to be the Regional Training Centre for the West African sub-region.

The KATH boss said the hospital also intended to use the modern A&E Centre to kick start the introduction of Medical Tourism and Telemedicine in the country by attracting clients at lest from the entire continent.

According to Dr. Nsiah Asare, the hospital's next infrastructural development had been targeted at the completion of the Maternity and Children"s Block which he said, had been abandoned some 34 years ago, as well as the rehabilitation of the existing 'Gee Blocks'.

Dr. Asare appealed to the government to assist the hospital to finance the aforementioned projects

He disclosed that his outfit also had plans to establish Specialized Eye Centre, Paediatric Cardiothoracic Centre, Urology Centre and Post-nursing Training School but said those projects had to be delayed due to the unavailability of land.

He therefore, called on government to hasten the transfer of the adjoining military land to the hospital for the needed expansion to be carried out without delay.

He expressed the hospital's appreciation to the NPP government for its support, noting that KATH had seen vast improvement in terms of the provision of modern and world class medical facilities.

He mentioned the completion of a Radiotherapy Centre for the treatment of Cancers, installation of ultra modern ICT scanner, completion of one block of 16 flats for doctors (residents), procurement and installation of five million dollars worth of medical equipment under the Spanish Protocol and the construction of one block of 32 flats for nurses, as some of the projects carried out at the hospital by the NPP government in seven years.

Other projects also included the construction of one block of 49 flats for residents, construction of Duty Post for Chief Executive, completion of two blocks of 48 flats for doctors and the completion of a modern Physiotherapy Centre.

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