Briefing Given to the Parliamentary Select Committee on Health by DR. Oheneba Owusu-Danso, Chief Executive Of
BRIEFING GIVEN TO THE PARLIAMENTARY SELECT COMMITTEE ON HEALTH BY DR. OHENEBA OWUSU-DANSO, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OF KOMFO ANOKYE TEACHING HOSPITAL (KATH), DURING THE COMMITTEE’S WORKING VISIT TO THE HOSPITAL ON THURSDAY JUNE 23, 2022
On behalf of the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) Board, Management, and staff, it is my privilege and pleasure to welcome the leadership and members of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Health to KATH.
Profile of KATH: KATH is a creation of Law, established by the Ghana Health Service and Teaching Hospitals Act, 1996 (ACT 525). It is overseen by an eleven-member Board currently chaired by Ambassador Nana Effah Apenteng. KATH is a Tertiary Level Hospital providing specialist healthcare services and training, and is currently the second largest hospital in Ghana, receiving referrals from 13 out of the 16 regions of the country. The hospital has a total work force of 5,385, of which 857 are doctors and 2,304 are nurses and midwives.
Clinical activities: At the end of 2021, OPD attendances were 286,132 (a 20.9% increase over 2020), admissions were 29,966 (up 3.6%), emergencies were 24,697 (up 3.6%), deliveries were 5,909 (up 5.41%), surgeries were 15,220 (down 11.3%), laboratory investigations were 212,870 (up 14.6%), radiology services totalled 69,125 (up 39.44%), and blood screened was 18,827 pints (up 37.09%).
Projects underway: These include construction of the Mother and Baby Unit funded by the First Lady at a cost of 10 million Ghana Cedis; the Pediatrics Intensive Care Unit; the National Cleft Care Center, a 2 million USD collaboration with Smile Train and the Ghana Cleft Foundation, at 40% completion; the Assisted Reproduction Technology Centre, at 65% completion; a Doctor’s Office Complex that had been abandoned for over 10 years; the reactivated Maternity and Children’s Block Project, a 155 million Euro project at 45% completion; and the Patients Relatives Hostel project, a Build-Operate-Transfer arrangement at 70% completion.
Retooling: In the last two to three years the hospital has procured equipment including an OPG with Cephalometric X-Ray, surgical implants, a steam sterilizer for the Laundry Unit, two oxygen plants and accessories, an ECT machine, two operating theatre tables, a 128-slice Siemens CT scan, two C-arms, and an endoscopic suite for the Medicine Directorate.
Other interventions: These include construction of a four-storey 47-flat house officers’ block, reconstruction and asphalting of hospital roads and car parks, establishment of the KATH Endowment Fund, establishment of a 24-Hour Pharmacy, implementation of the paperless Electronic Medical Record System, and KATH becoming the first Teaching Hospital in Ghana accredited by the Health Facilities Regulatory Agency with the highest score to date.
Challenges: The hospital cited a lack of land for further expansion, congestion and security threats, aging infrastructure particularly the GEE Blocks, over-aged equipment, an increasing number of paupers unable to pay bills, over-aged vehicles, delays in payment of Health Insurance claims, dwindling numbers of security staff, brain drain among nurses, and a breakdown of the central sewage line serving KATH and neighbouring institutions.
KATH’s role in the health sector of Ghana and its contribution to national development cannot be overemphasized. In spite of its important role, KATH is currently overstretched and needs the collective efforts of all stakeholders to resolve its chronic challenges.
