Dealing with cervical cancer: Access to treatment centres in all regions now
From the starting point of zero, now all 16 regions in the country have at least one health facility where women can have treatment for cervical pre-cancer with ablation.
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This follows a deliberate effort by the Cervical Cancer Prevention and Training Centre (CCPTC) at the Catholic Hospital, Battor, to train health professionals to ensure that medical care for cervical cancer can be easily assessed without people travelling to limited centralised facilities to receive attention.
Confirming this to the Daily Graphic, the head of the CCPTC, Dr Kofi Effah, said the development was well in line with the vision for setting up the centre.
“Yes, the vision CCPTC set out to achieve is within reach because we have trained professionals in all 16 regions now”.
CCPTC, Battor
The CCPTC, Battor, was set up as an intervention by the specialists of the facility to have a multi-faceted approach to dealing with the rising cases of cervical cancer and the havoc it was causing.
It is committed to intensive training of health workers in cervical cancer screening and treatment through two comprehensive modules.
Module 1 equips trainees with the knowledge and skills to set up a screening unit and screen for cervical pre-cancer, while Module 2 equips trainees with the knowledge and skills to treat precancerous lesions of the cervix with thermal coagulation and cryotherapy.
So far, 424 health workers, made up of nurses and doctors, have been trained at the centre to serve their various facilities. Of the number, 418 are from Ghana and six are from other African countries.
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The cost for training one person in either module is GH¢6,000.
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Dr Effah explained that before the centre’s last training programme last July, 15 out of the 16 regions had institutions that could treat cervical pre-cancer with ablation (thermal ablation/cryotherapy), with the Ahafo Region not having a centre for treatment of cervical pre-cancer.
“However, in the last training programme, two midwives from the Goaso Municipal Hospital and two midwives from St. John of God Catholic Hospital, Duayaw-Nkwanta, were trained, thus now, each of the 16 regions has at least, one facility with a trained professional to handle cervical cancer screening,” Dr Effah said.
The head of the CCPTC stated that this had been achieved through a $70,000 Rotary Foundation grant secured by the Rotary Clubs of Accra-East (Ghana) and Eau Claire (USA).
In September 2023, the two Rotary Clubs presented 50 thermal coagulators to the CCPTC, Battor, for distribution to health institutions across Ghana after training the thermal coagulators had now reached all 16 regions of Ghana.
Also, other philanthropists realising the importance of having trained personnel on cervical cancer, had provided funds to sponsor health professionals in that regard.
Recently, a former patient who underwent surgery at the hospital 20 years ago donated
GH¢12,000 for the centre to select two persons to be trained. The gesture was to mark 20 years of undergoing successful surgery.
Also, the Paramount Chief of Kenyasi No.1 in Ahafo Region, Nana Osei Kofi Abiri, last June sponsored two midwives for Module 1 of the cervical cancer prevention programme.