The trainees and officials of KBTH, GCPS in a group photo
Korle Bu Teaching Hospital (KBTH) and the Ghana College of Physicians and Surgeons (GCPS) have commenced a training programme in emergency medicine for medical personnel in Accra.
The training, accredited by the GCPS will run for three years and has already seven admitted physicians including Dr. Theophilius Kpakpo Addo, Dr. Janet Opare and Dr. Ida Druant for its membership programme and Dr. Henry Bulley, Dr Felicia Freeman, Dr. Nana Serwaa Agyeman-Quao and Dr. Kwasi Ofori-Anti for its fellowship programme.
Chief Executive Officer of KBTH, Dr. Opoku Ware Ampomah, said the membership programme runs for about three years adding that the accreditation would help more physicians get the needed specialist training in emergency medicine in Accra.
He said, “Once the hospital has been accredited for training it means that it can receive people who want to train in emergency medicine into the residency programme at the hospital.”
He added, “the programme started about 5 or 6 years ago in Kumasi so for those who wanted to train in emergency medicine we had to take them to Kumasi but if you look at the fact the emergency room at KBTH receives over 18,000 to 20,000 that is a high case load that people can use to train in that environment,” he added.
He said the initiative would help the hospital develop high skills personnel within the emergency room who will be on standby to treat emergency cases as quickly as possible.
“It will also help us decongest the emergency room so that the emergency room is free to receive the next patient. If we are processing patients quicker and we are getting better results and outcome that is good for all of us,” he added.
GCPS Rector, Professor Richard Adanu, was delighted that the move which he attributed to the determination of the college to expand emergency medicine training in the country.
He said the programme will be overseen by the faculty of emergency medicine and “they are going to make sure that trainers are going to come in to provide the training until the point where we have trainers on sight.”
He thus urged the trainees to make the most out of the opportunity. “Let us all join hands together and let this work,” he said.
By Jamila Akweley Okertchiri