KATH is to establish telemedicine centre this year

Kumasi, Feb 2, GNA - The Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) will set up a telemedicine centre this year to offer continuous health education to health workers, especially those in the rural communities. The move, which involves a simultaneous telecast of medical lectures, is to ensure that health workers are kept abreast with modern health care delivery and also seek answers and solutions to difficult and complicated matters from experts and specialists at the hospital. Dr Anthony Nsiah-Asare, Chief Executive of KATH, made this known at the fourth annual anaesthesia refresher course for nurse anaesthetists from some hospitals throughout the country in Kumasi on Wednesday.

The course, which was instituted by KATH in collaboration with the University of Utah three years ago, aimed at refreshing and updating the knowledge and skills of nurses and some doctor anaesthetists to ensure that their practice was in tune with current trends. Dr Nsiah-Asare said health workers needed continuous education at all times and appealed to the Ghana Health Service to consider taking up the training programme to ensure that more nurses and other health personnel attended it.


Dr George Boakye, Head of the Directorate of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care Unit of KATH, said the training course that was under the theme, "Emergency Anaesthesia and Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR)", was relevant because emergency cases presented a peculiar challenge to the anaesthetist.


He said in recent times, cardiovascular and trauma related deaths and emergencies were on the ascendancy and there was the need for human capacity building in cardiopulmonary resuscitation to help reduce morbidity and mortality.

Dr Boakye thanked the University of Utah for its continuous assistance to the hospital over the last three years. He said the university had provided medical equipment, drugs, books and teaching materials worth over two million dollars to the directorate.


Dr Jeff Peters, leader of the University of Utah team, said the university would continue to offer training in modern anaesthesiology.