Authorities of KATH review performance

Kumasi, Jan. 24, GNA - The management of Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) in Kumasi in its bid to make the hospital centre of excellence and a preferred employer, granted study leave to 28 specialists and medical doctors to pursue post-graduate courses in the country and abroad at an estimated cost of 3.2 billion cedis last year.

In addition, the hospital trained 1,196 members of staff through in-service training courses to improve its human resource base and provide optimal health care services to its ever increasing clientele. Dr Anthony Nsiah-Asare, Chief Executive Officer of KATH disclosed this when addressing the opening session of a two-day performance review workshop of the hospital in Kumasi on Wednesday.

He said the hospital undertook some development projects to help improve the facilities last year.

They included construction of the National Accident and Emergency Centre, new ultra modern mortuary and staff quarters at Bantama. Dr Nsiah-Asare said the hospital's Dialysis Centre which was closed down was refurbished and inaugurated with the assistance of Dr Charity Kankam, a Nephrologists based in the United States of America (USA), in addition to the construction of a two billion-cedi Intensive Care Unit for the theatre.

The Chief Executive Officer of KATH said management had planned to support the Pharmacy Department in the production of drugs which included digostin, progruanil neostigmine, magnesium sulphate and others for the hospital as well as other hospitals.

He announced that management had finalised arrangements with some financial institutions to finance in the form of mortgage for members of staff to build their own houses on 550 plots of land acquired. Dr Nsiah-Asare disclosed that the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) had already taken off and there had been significant rise in the number of insured patients making the hospital's monthly insurance claims of 400 million cedis to increase to three billion cedis last year.

He commended staff of the hospital for the good work done and was optimistic strategies would be adopted to improve on its performance this year to provide quality health care to the people. Dr Nsiah-Asare said the way forward was 93Let all of us make a collective resolution to provide better services to patients to improve the public perception about our staff."

Dr Kofi Asare, Ashanti Regional Director of Health Services, said the policy of medical doctors to pursue post-graduate courses had seriously affected health care delivery in most hospitals, health centres and appealed to staff of the hospital to come out with solutions to improve health care delivery. 24 Jan. 07