KBTH Poised To Be A Hub Of Medical Tourism In West Africa

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital (KBTH), Dr Felix Anyah, has revealed that strategic plans were underway to ensure that Ghana in no time becomes a hub for medical tourism.

According to him, Ghana is blessed with the best brains and technical knowhow meant to bring prompt and quality services to its people, as well as other nationalities who might come into the country to seek healthcare solutions.

“Our location, the fact that we are English-speaking, the fact that our prices are lower, the fact that our social and cultural environment are just like we have in the English-speaking countries, make us a suitable destination for medical tourism,” he said.

Dr. Anyah made this statement while delivering his keynote address at the commissioning of the Refurbished Orthopaedic Ward N of the KBTH, yesterday.

The KBTH CEO said the refurbishment of the unit was an essential component of the drive to reposition KBTH as a centre for proper healthcare delivery.

The unit, which was instituted 95 years ago, diagnoses and treats a wide range of musculoskeletal defects.

According to him, the number of patients on waiting list for hip and knee operations in the U.K currently stands at 505,971 and the cost of these surgeries is between £7,600- £16,764.

In Ghana, however, the cost of knee and hip operations is 10 percent of what is charged in the UK.

With the unit given a facelift, KBTH is set to attract some of the over 600,000 patients across the globe awaiting knee and hip surgery.

 

Orthopaedic Ward N

“The renovated female ward was in a delipidated state― not fit to nurse human beings,” the Head of Department (HOD) of the Accident and Orthopaedic Centre, Dr Frederick Kwarteng, revealed.

It was against this background that the management decided to solicit funds to make the ward habitable.

According to Dr Kwarteng, the renovation cost GH¢450,000 and was funded largely by the Orthopaedic Department and supported by GCB Bank Limited.

The Unit attributes the success of the project to Dr Antionette Ama Dela and Dr Nii Odartei Ashong-Lamptey, two former medical students who are now doctors.

“They wrote proposals packed with pictures of the dilapidated state of the ward to GCB,” Dr Kwarteng revealed.

He continued: “Having renovated it, the unit would serve as a platform to boost the revenue base of the hospital. It is going to create a conducive environment for the training of specialists or doctors who are training as orthopaedic surgeons. It is also going to provide a serene environment for the teaching of medical and nursing students.”

The Managing Director of GCB Bank Limited, Mr Anselm Ransford Sowah, while handing over the edifice to the hospital, said the support by the bank is in recognition of the importance of excellent healthcare delivery to national development.

“…for us at GCB Bank, the provision of sustainable healthcare to society forms part of our social responsibility and we remain committed to this cause,” he assured.

By: Grace Ablewor Sogbey/ [email protected]