Ghana needs an expanded cardio centre – Senior Cardiologist
A senior cardiologist at the Cardiothoracic Unit of the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, Professor Mark Tettey, has called for the urgent expansion of the facilities at the facility, to enable it meets its increasing demand of caring for patients.
He said currently the centre had only 22- bed capacity which was woefully inadequate to meet the needs of the many patients some from West Africa.
“The existing one is quite old now. We are growing and we need a bigger centre and that is what we are praying for. We heard that the government is making efforts to build a new centre and that is what we are hoping for,” Prof Tettey said.
“I recommend at least 100 bed-capacity for the new centre,” he said, adding that there are nine cardio surgeons in Ghana currently.
Prof Tettey also proposed that the new cardio centre should be built and named after Prof Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng, Minister of the Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation, a renowned cardiologist, who championed the practice of heart surgery in the country.
Prof Frimpong-Boateng is the Founder of the Cardio Centre and he is said to have single- handedly sourced for funds to build the centre and had trained a team of cardiologists who were working at the centre.
Prof Tettey who led a team of Cardiologists from the Cardiothoracic Unit to pay a courtesy call on Prof Frimpong-Boateng, in Accra, said in honour of the Environment Minister that: “It is not a mean achievement for somebody to organise a team and train them as cardiologists for a centre.”
He said: “Prof Frimpong-Boateng did well to organise a team, start the programme and sustain it till even now that he was no more with the Centre.
“He had been able to mentor the team and brought them to a level where they could stand on their feet, and invest in their training as well.”
The Minister expressed the need for the country to get another cardio centre to be able to serve the needs of Ghanaians.
While thanking Ghanaians for supporting the establishment of the existing Cardio centre, Prof Frimpong-Boateng also encouraged the surgeons to keep up the good work in helping save the lives of the people.
The rest of the team who called on the Minister are Professor Frank Edwin, Professor Martin Tamatey and Dr Kofi Baffoe Gyan, all of whom thanked the Minister for building the Foundation and nurturing it.
Source: GNA