Wonders at Aponche Memorial Herbal Centre

The Aponche Clinic has become a household name in the Tema Metropolis and its environs because of the wonders being performed there in setting broken bones and the treatment of bone related disorders. A combination of technological and traditional methods has resulted in the successful joining of pieces of broken bones since its establishment in 1970.

This has attracted testimonies from a lot of accident victims and others with infected wounds and broken bones.

A visit to Aponche, an Akan name for goat, saw patients with ailments including fractured bones, broken bones, waist joints, stiff neck, back pains and  spinal disorders being attended to in the serene and neat environment of the clinic.

The clinic, with 28 permanent trained staff, also handles rheumatism, malaria, diabetes, candidiasis (white), piles, waist pains, low sperm count, typhoid fever, jaundice , loss of libido ad gonorrhoea, among others.

History had it that the clinic started in the late 1950s when an elderly man, Kojo Entsie Aponche, made the treatment of bone-related problems a hobby at Aboadzie in the Western Region.

His son, Nana Kojo Ntina, who was then a worker with the then Railways Corporation in Takoradi, assisted his father in treating patients.

Nana Ntina, now deceased, was transferred in 1970 to Tema to work with the Tema Railways Corporation but continued to practice the skills acquired from his father for free.

He later decided to go commercial when the turnout of patients increased by the day and therefore acquired a place for the clinic which was opened in 1998 as a fully registered clinic offering services such as laboratory, diabetes screening and a pharmacy.

The clinic offers training programmes to local and international students, especially from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) and the University of Ghana, Legon.

The Medical Director of the Tema General Hospital, Dr Charity Sarpong, lauded the clinic for the good work and said quite a number of its clients bore witness to the exploits of the clinic.

The Managing Director of the clinic, Mr Paul Entsie Nyankom, told The Mirror that the clinic was striving to become a Centre of Excellence in the sub-region, saying ‘people from neighbouring countries also come here.’

He was optimistic that the herbal medicine industry had a future and called on the government to support the industry and help remove quacks from the system.


Story: Rose Hayford Darko, Tema