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The Director of the National Cardiothoracic Centre at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, Dr Kow Entsua-Mensah, has advocated collaboration and resource sharing among existing cardiothoracic centres in Ghana to improve service delivery and patient care.
He stated that with the rising incidents of Cardiovascular Diseases (CVDs) and the fact that there are only 14 specialists in the country working in five hospitals, it was important for them to come together, not only for their professional interest, but to collaborate more to improve patient care and outcomes in the healthcare delivery.
Dr Enstua-Mensah made the call at the inaugural meeting of the Ghanaian Society of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgeons in Accra last Saturday.
“We are only 14 in the country and currently, we have five hospitals in Ghana with cardiovascular and thoracic surgeons providing services.
“Everyone is doing their bit to champion the field and improve patient care and outcomes, but we realise that when we come together, we can achieve much more, not only as professionals but also advocate the need for more personnel in the field,” he stressed.
The Ghanaian Society of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgeons seeks to engage in training and influence national policy formulation, among other objectives.
The society currently has an initial membership of 14 qualified surgeons, with six others in training.
The inaugural meeting was held on the theme: “Capacity Building in Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery Through Partnership.”
Dr Entsua-Mensah called for capacity building and the expansion of existing facilities, stressing the scarcity of cardiothoracic surgeons in the country and the urgent need to increase the number of specialists across the regions for enhanced and effective healthcare delivery.
“It is time to scale up training and increase the workforce, not only for the national centre located in the southern belt, but also for the middle and northern belts, and ultimately for the entire country,” he said.
He explained that the society aimed to increase the number of trainees and deploy them across the regions to support the existing workforce.
Touching on the state of cardiothoracic surgery in the country, the Director of the National Cardiothoracic Centre at Korle Bu said that centres at the University of Ghana Medical Centre (UGMC), the 37 Military Hospital, the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital and the Tamale Teaching Hospital should be expanded to ease the growing demand on the National Cardiothoracic Centre at Korle Bu.
He encouraged better-resourced centres in Accra to support less developed ones whilst the government worked towards establishing regional cardiovascular and thoracic centres to prevent patients from travelling long distances for treatment.
“One of the aims of this society is to bring our services closer to the people by ensuring that not only the centres in Accra are developed, but also centres in Kumasi and Tamale. From there, we can expand to other parts of the country,” he stated.
A renowned cardiothoracic surgeon and pioneer of the Korle Bu Cardiothoracic Centre, Professor Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng, recalled the centre's history and urged young professionals to embrace technology and modern procedures to deliver quality care.
He called for increased investment in facilities and equipment and urged professionals to deepen their expertise, maintain strong work ethics and support society in achieving its objectives.
