Coronavirus: Clinicians trained in critical case management

A four-week intensive COVID-19 Critical Case Management training for 86 clinicians has ended in Accra.

The training, which started in January, involved four cohorts of clinicians who were taken through oxygen therapy using a combination of didactic methods and clinical rounds.

It was jointly organised by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Ghana Health Service (GHS).

Dr Stephen Dzisi, the Acting Health Office Director for USAID–Ghana, at the closing ceremony, said the USAID would support the Government to expand the training to district health workers in selected regions.

He reiterated the Agency’s commitment to supporting Ghana's COVID-19 response and commended the Ministry of Health and the GHS for their continued leadership.

“We look forward to your upcoming support to cascade this training to the district level in target regions, so lower levels in the health system can also benefit from this important training,” he said.

The clinicians were schooled on practical mechanical ventilation, airway management, pulse oximetry, blood pressure monitoring, and chest tube insertion.

They will use the techniques acquired to manage COVID-19 critically ill patients at the wards.

The clinicians received an Intensive Care Unit “starter kit,” an essential package of supplies to support their work when they return to their facilities.

The USAID’s assistance also established basic critical care hubs in each regional hospital to reduce stress on overwhelmed facilities.

The USAID says the support would enable a more robust response to the COVID-19 pandemic and strengthen Ghana’s health system to better respond to future health emergencies.