Austrian firm to construct urology centre at Korle Bu
The government has engaged an Austrian firm under a public-private partnership to construct a urology centre of excellence at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital by the end of the year.
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When completed, the centre will diagnose, treat and manage patients with urological disorders.
This came to light when a medical team from the Transplant Links Community (TLC) of the University of Birmingham Hospital called on President Mahama at the Flagstaff House, Kanda in Accra yesterday.
Details about the firm and the cost of the project are yet to be made known.
Led by Dr Charlotte Osafo, Head of the Renal Unit of the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, the team is in the country to perform three live donor kidney transplants on gratis. The team has performed 12 of such operations since 2008.
Kidney cases
In Ghana, kidney-related diseases are said to be on the ascendancy and the transplant is seen as the best way of treating it, as opposed to long-term dialysis.
The development of live donor kidney transplantation at Korle Bu, under the auspices of TLC, therefore, offers a lifeline to patients with chronic kidney failure.
President Mahama
Welcoming the team to his office, President Mahama lauded the idea to establish a centre of excellence for people to access quality healthcare.
He said the envisaged project would resolve the problem often faced by people suffering from kidney and other ailments who have to travel abroad for treatment at great expense .
The government, he said, would do its part by supporting such noble moves to ensure that dialysis centres and centres of excellence in other medical fields were established in the country.
For her part, Dr Osafo said the kidney transplant programme began in 2008 with the support of TLC, when it was realised that kidney patients in Ghana were dying because they could not afford kidney dialysis.
“So far 12 live kidney transplants have been done, and we are to do three more this week,” said Dr Osafo, adding, “The programme has been very successful and the young ones who have kidney failure now have their lives back.”
Kidney transplant
In his remarks, Mr Andrew Ready, a consultant transplant surgeon, said that Ghana was one of the few sub-Saharan African countries with a kidney transplant programme.
Ms Sherry Ayittey, Minister of Health, said the intended urology centre would make the kidney transplant programme sustainable and hinted that four dialysis centres were to be built by an American firm in four institutions of learning in the country in two years.
UK Minister for Africa
In a related development, President Mahama has urged the country’s development partners to help Ghana to address its short-term economic challenges.
The President made the appeal when the UK Minister for Africa, Mrs Lynne Featherstone, called on him at the Flagstaff House.
President Mahama acknowledged that though the country was having some short-term economic challenges, prospects for the medium-term were good.
Mrs Featherstone, for her part, spoke about her country’s interest in supporting the economic development of Ghana and promoting gender equality to help girls achieve their potential.