Dr. Felix Kwaku Anyah (middle)
Experienced Medical practitioner and former Acting Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital (KBTH) Dr. Felix Kwaku Anyah, has been appointed the board chairman of the Ho Teaching Hospital.
His appointment by President Akufo-Addo in consultation with the Council of State follows the constitution of the first board for the hospital since it was upgraded from a regional to a teaching hospital in April 2019.
Members of the board are Ernest Yao Gaewu, Legal Practitioner, Dr. Emmanuel Kofi Amponsah, Medical Practitioner, Dr. Prince Sodoke Amuzu, Allied Health Professional, Dr. Audu Rauf, Pharmacist, Felix Nyante, head of the Nursing and Midwifery Council, Prof. John Gyapong, representative of university council, Dr. Sylvia Ayele Deganus, representative of university council, Victor Andy Danku, Private Sector Business person and Dr. John Tampouri, CEO Ho Teaching Hospital.
Minister of Health Kwaku Agyeman-Manu in a few remarks after leading the board to take the oaths of office and secrecy said the new Board areis the first to be inaugurated under the amendment of Section 37 of Act 525 of the Ghana Health Service and Teaching Hospital Act, 1996.
He said under the 1996 Ghana Health Service and Teaching Hospital Act 525, the membership of the Teaching Hospital Boards consisted mostly of hospital Management staff, he therefore emphasized that for efficient cooperate governance, the board must be completely independent of management staff.
He said the amended Section 37 of Act 525 now mandates board members of teaching hospitals to consist of Chairperson, a legal practitioner, a medical practitioner, allied health practitioner, pharmacist, nurse/ midwife, 2 representatives with considerable experience in health education research and nominated by the university council, financial consultant and a Private sector business entrepreneur with only the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of a hospital as a member of the board.
He said the Ho Teaching Hospital was currently going through a change process as it assembles its full complement to operate as a teaching hospital.
He, however, noted that despite its young age, the teaching hospital can boast of an infectious disease center and therefore implored the board to manage the centre as part of the facility.
“Because it is a new facility you may not have so many challenges like Korle Bu, but I am expecting you from the background we have assembled you to also bring in some extra managerial expertise to support the management of the hospital for better outcome,” he charged the board.
Dr. Anyah, the Board chair was grateful for the opportunity to serve and pledged the board’s commitment to help manage the hospital effectively and efficiently.
Dr Anyah, Executive Chairman of Holy Trinity Medical Centre promised to develop the new Teaching Hospital into an enviable facility with a quaternary service that will liaise with international accreditation bodies such as JCI International in order to promote medical/health tourism to the hospital and the Volta region as well as make Ghana a Medical Tourism hub.
“I am passionate about health and wellness tourism,” he said. “With my experience in health, medical and wellness tourism is a vehicle that if we take seriously and put in the right mechanisms we can attract clients from the sub-region and change our financials,” he stressed.
By Jamila Akweley Okertchiri