KATH makes major strides under NPP

Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital in Kumasi has for the past seven-and-a-half years under the NPP government, seen lots of improvement in both infrastructure and performance of staff, Chief Executive Officer of KATH, Anthony Nsiah-Asare disclosed this last week during the opening ceremony of the 2008 Mid-Year Performance Review workshop organised by the hospital in Kumasi.

According to him, "KATH has come a long way especially, since 2001 under this present government", stressing, "even though the hospital has not yet reached the 'Promised Land', the management and staff, including Ghanaians, can all be proud of the kind of transformation that has taken place at the hospital over the last seven years".

He said the advancement of the hospital had become possible due to the great support of the board, management, staff and other key stakeholders, including donor partners and particularly the media, who have all played their respective roles to perfection.

"This year is definitely going to be one of the most momentous in the hospital's history. The eagerly awaited National Accident and Emergency Centre being put up at the hospital is scheduled to be completed in a month or two", he announced.

Dr. Nsiah-Asare said the attached Pathology Centre, with a 209 body ultra-modern mortuary had been completed, and added that the Centre would start operations on September 1 this year. He expressed the hope that the facility would greatly improve pathology and mortuary services of the hospital.

The CEO announced that the hospital had also successfully signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the US-based Pathologist Overseas organisation to improve pathology services and training at the hospital.

He said the waiting time for pathological test results which took months to get because they had to be sent outside the country for analysis, could now be ready in one week due to the availability of specialist pathologist from Pathologist Overseas.

Dr. Nsiah-Asare stressed that when the Centre was completed, it would be the most modern in Africa. He said Ghanaian specialists in the US were gathering themselves into a faculty to start the training of Emergency Physicians at the Centre.

"We are therefore most grateful to the government for such a lofty project which has remarkably increased our attractiveness to the outside world and is thus helping us to register some brain gain instead of brain drain".

According to him, the first phase of the Specialist Consulting Rooms project had also been completed, whilst the second phase was near completion.

The CEO pointed out that due to the ultra-modern nature of the facilities of the hospital, a number of foreign-based Ghanaian specialists and consultants were seriously thinking of re-locating to the country either on short or long term basis, to offer their services.

He disclosed that the hospital had awarded on contract the construction of another 25-cubic metre incinerator at the cost of GH¢100,000 to take care of both clinical and general solid waste.