CEO of the Kings and Queens Medical University College and Teaching Hospital, Dr Jerryson Ameworgbe Gidisu is appealing to the government to subsidize taxes on the importation of medical equipment into the country to reduce the cost of medical care in Ghana.
Dr Gidisu made the call when he commissioned the phase one of a $13m, 360 bed capacity Teaching Hospital at Akuse Junction in the Lower Manya Krobo Municipal Assembly on Saturday.
The commissioning of the facility came barely two and a half years after the sod cutting in January 2017 for commencement of construction works, with the vision to provide the kind of medical care most suitable for their prospective clients.
Dr Gidisu who regretted what he called the “unfriendly system” in Ghana believed that government creating a conducive environment for people desirous of establishing private medical facilities through subsidy on medical equipment and clearance of equipment from the ports would go a long way in improving healthcare delivery in the country.
“The system is not friendly to private healthcare providers”, said the CEO. “Government should give subsidy to persons who want to establish facilities like private healthcare providers, through tax subsidy, clearing of medical equipment from the ports”. The absence of these he bemoaned would continue to see the cost of healthcare on the increase.
The CEO and President also called on health seekers who have to seek medical care outside the country, to visit the facility since it is well equipped with modern technologies for the diagnosis and treatment of various ailments.
“This hospital has brought in a lot of modern technologies”, said Dr Gidisu. “Most people have to travel to South-Africa [and other countries] to do interventional cardiology and angiography but we have come up with the Digital Subtraction and Angiography (DSA) machine which is one of its kind in the West Africa sub region”.
The astute doctor also called on government to consider the private sector as complementing its efforts and must therefore extend vital services and useful information to the sector to enhance the recognition of both public and private sectors as joint touch bearers in health care delivery to the people.
He regretted the state of healthcare delivery in Ghana which is bedeviled with lack of adequate personnel and equipment and tasked government to “be flexible in sponsoring people in the specialized and subspecialties in the various areas of healthcare delivery”, or risk treating only basic ailments rather than advanced areas of healthcare delivery.
Guest of Honour and Director of Cardiothoracic Center of Hebei Medical University 2nd Teaching Hospital in China, Professor Chen Lihua extolled the virtues of Dr Gidisu who holds a master’s degree in cardiothoracic surgery and a PhD in neurosurgery as industrious and one of his best international students.
Professor Lihua said the facility which is equipped with advanced technologies and equipment would introduce Chinese senior management team members and professors including famous Chinese cardiac experts, paediatric experts, obstetrics and gynaecologist experts, anaesthesiology experts and Chinese traditional medicine experts who will directly improve the medical treatment conditions of Ghanaians.
Professor Lihua is a Chief physician and cardiac surgeon, professor of surgery, masters and PhD supervisor and a member of the vascular expert committee of the national cardiovascular disease prevention and control committee of China and has completed nearly 8000 cardiac and thoracic surgeries.
On her part, Municipal Director of Health Services at the Yilo Krobo Health Directorate, Dr (Mrs) Irina Offei while expressing her delight at the Krobo enclave being blessed with a premier ultra-modern private teaching hospital and medical college of excellence loaded with comprehensive healthcare services, averred that it was imperative to take cognizance of the trends in the health and academia, coupled with the levels of change taking place in the Krobo area.
MCE for Lower Manya Krobo, Simon Kweku Tetteh whose office facilitated the permitting process for the establishment of the edifice, congratulated Dr Gidisu on the establishment of the Kings and Queens medical facility and expressed his optimism that the facility per its location will serve as the first point of call for victims of accidents usually recorded on the Kpong – Tema highway. Hon. Tetteh said the Medical University College and Teaching Hospital will complement the efforts of government facilities in Lower Manya Krobo, Yilo Krobo and Upper Manya Krobo.
The Health Facilities Regulatory Agency, HeFRA accredited facility per its 10 years strategic plan will expand its capacity to 3000 beds with satellite hospitals in all the 16 regions in Ghana. It is also expected to house a surgical block, administration block, a ten-storey medical block, a research center, radiology and a mortuary. Other facilities include a science-biased Senior High School, student hostels, lecture halls, staff flat, a Great Hall amongst others. Recreational facilities such as a gymnasium, a sports complex, a swimming pool among others are also part of the health/educational facility estimated to cost some $160m.
The Medical University College and Teaching Hospital which is the first of its kind to be operated individually is expected to improve the health delivery system of the country. Being a preferred healthcare seeking destination in Ghana, the well-equipped facility will provide comprehensive healthcare for many across the country.
The kings and queens teaching hospital is anchored on clear and firm objectives of providing healthcare through collaboration; becoming the premier medical college and teaching hospital in Ghana and Africa; providing an environment for teaching, research and training of healthcare professionals; becoming beneficial in the use of new medical and surgical technologies and improving healthcare and maximizing quality of life through education, research and patient care.
The center being run in partnership with other world class health institutions currently provides health services to hundreds of Ghanaians. Its location within the Lower Manya Krobo enclave is also expected to boost health, education as well as employment opportunities to those within its environs.
With the medical school in the process of obtaining accreditation, Dr. Gidisu is hopeful that the first batch of 20 students will be enrolled by September, 2019 to pursue various medical courses with the potential to increase student intake to 2000 students per year.
The facility presently operates 24-hour services and equipped with modern, state of the art equipment for the delivery of quality healthcare for various conditions and ailments including Out Patients Services, In-patients services, Emergency services, Cardiology services, Ultrasound services, Laboratory services, Pharmacy services, Echocardiography services, Radiology services and Surgical or Theatre services.
The outpatient medical facility also has in place a team of qualified medical personnel in all departments for specialist care in other fields including Electrocardiogram (ECG), Cardiac Holter services, Antenatal services, Postnatal services, Dental services, Dialysis services, Interventional cardiology, Family planning services, Physiotherapy services and International medical examination.
That is not all, the Kings and Queens Medical University College and Teaching Hospital is also equipped with the latest medical equipment to provide sound and efficient medical care for its valued clients including Public Health Clinic, Diabetic clinics, Neurology and stroke clinic, Eye clinic, Orthopedic services, Dermatology clinics and Psychiatric services.
Borne out of the desire to bring healthcare delivery to the doorsteps of people in the locality, the facility will augment the already existing facilities to make health delivery more accessible to Ghanaians in general.
Source: Michael Oberteye
