KATH pumps GH₵30 million to revamps its operations

The Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) in Kumasi, has invested an amount of GH¢30 million to provide ultra-modern equipment and retool its entire operations.

This has helped to revamp the operations of the hospital, the second-largest referral facility in the country built resilience in its quest to provide quality, affordable and accessible healthcare.

Dr Oheneba Owusu-Danso, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of KATH, said these at the hospital’s 2021 Performance Review meeting in Kumasi.

The theme for the meeting was, “Building a resilient and affordable healthcare system; the role of Teaching Hospitals and the Healthcare Practitioner.”

The meeting afforded participants the platform to formally and comprehensively access the collective performance of the various directorates and units, against set targets and devise strategies to address the challenges.

It also gave them the opportunity to introduce the new board to the staff of KATH.

Dr Owusu-Danso pointed out that the new equipment were making a remarkable difference in the ability to provide a broader range of specialist care to the public and training of healthcare professionals in the country.

He mentioned some of the units, which were renovated and retooled as the maternity block, the KATH guest house, reconstruction and asphalting of the hospital’s roads and car parks, the construction of a paediatric care unit and the construction of a four-story building for officers.

Additionally, some of the machines purchased were Surgical Plants, two Oxygen plants with various accessories, an Electroconvulsive Therapy machine, Endoscopic suits for medical directorates, 128 slice Siemens CT scan and UV – VIS Spectrophotometer.

According to the CEO, the hospital also witnessed an appreciable increase in all clinical performance and other related indicators.

He said building a resilient healthcare system needed the right investment for health institutions, staff motivation and welfare as well as the creation of enabling environment for research, innovation, and learning.

He said the hospital’s management with the support of other stakeholders were committed to the enhancement of the hospital’s resilience and by extension, the healthcare system of the country.

Dr Emmanuel Odame Ankrah, Director for Policy Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation (PPME), at the Ministry of Health (MOH), said “the vision of KATH rightly falls in place with that of the President, Nana Addo Dankwah Akufo – Addo’s vision.

“It is the President’s vision that the country becomes a medical tourism hub in the West African sub-region and beyond,” he added.

He added that healthcare was a human right issue regardless of socio-economic status and that Ghanaians must not be denied healthcare due to the cost.

Dr Ankrah said the Universal Health Coverage could be achieved by promoting Public-Private Partnerships, adding that, relationship in healthcare was also key, and stressed the need for health workers to have a good relationship with patients for them to have trust in them.

GNA