KOICA donates to Greater Accra Regional Hospital

The government of Korea through the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) Ghana has donated laparoscopic surgery equipment worth US$41,000 to Greater Accra Regional Hospital (GARH) on Monday.

The equipment includes Endo Clip, Endo GIA, Hem-O-Lok Applier, Harmonic scalpel, laparoscopic graspers and dissectors and portable ultrasound  among others.

Laparoscopic surgery or minimal invasive surgery is a modern surgical technique in which operations are performed far from their location through small incisions elsewhere in the body.

KOICA also provided $9,000.00 for the training of nurses and doctors in Laparoscopic surgery at the facility.

The donation is to support a Laparoscopic Surgery Project, which commenced at the Hospital in 2016.

The project is expected to be completed in February 2019.

The project is KOICA’s US$140,000 funded project currently being implemented at the hospital.

KOICA is supporting the entire project with US$100,000 while the additional US$40,000 is through the help of Korean donors

Greater Accra Regional Hospital lauded

Presenting the items to the hospital, the Country Director of KOICA Ghana, Mr Yukyum Kim lauded the management and staff of the hospital for the supporting and fully owning project.

He assured that Korea would continue to partner countries such as Ghana in the area of health and medicine through the provision of health professional capacity building.

“KOICA dispatches specialised doctors through its Global Doctors Programme to partner countries to share their capacity with health professionals, because we strongly believe that everyone has the right to timely, affordable and accessible quality health care,” he said.

Mr Kim said KOICA was also supporting the Ministry of Health and the Ghana Health Service with Nine-Million dollars for the implementation of the Project for Improving Community-based Primary Healthcare through CHPS Strengthening (CHPS+) in 13 districts in the Upper East Region.

He further stated that KOICA collaborated with the US Centre for Disease Control, Ministry of Health and the Ghana Health Service for the implementation of the Global Health Security Agenda (GHSA) in Ghana with US$7.5 million.

He noted that Ghana and Korea’s cooperation in health would help more Ghanaians to have further access to quality and affordable healthcare they deserved.
 
The Director of Institutional Care Division of the Ghana Health Service, Dr. Samuel Kaba Akoriyea in a short remark, commended Dr Mee Joo Kang for her sacrifice made over the past years by providing her expertise in Laparoscopic Surgery at the disposal of nurses and doctors at the GARH.

Achievement

Giving overview of Laparoscopic Surgeries carried out at the Hospital, KOICA’s Global Doctor, Mee Joo Kang said Laparoscopic surgeries were less painful and cost effective as patients did not need to stay at the hospital for a long period after the surgery.

She said apart from establishing a Laparoscopic surgery centre, it would continue with education on Laparoscopic skills and maintenance of equipment.

Dr Kang said the project had carried out 49 laparoscopic surgeries cases, while 25 theatre nurses had been trained on the use and maintenance surgical equipment in 14 training sessions.

In addition, she said 64 doctors had undertaken 68 simulation lab session and two animal lab sessions.
 
The training according to Dr Kang is to equip Ghanaian doctors and nurses on laparoscopic surgery.

Centre of excellence

On his part, the Medical Director of the Greater Accra Regional Hospital, Dr Emmanuel Srofenyoh said the ongoing Laparoscopic surgery at the Hospital was in line with the Hospital’s vision of becoming centre of excellence in the country and beyond.

He added that the GRAH has been receiving a number of referral cases from the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital with clients opting for the facility as a Referral Centre following the establishment of the Laparoscopic Surgery Centre.

He further stated that the Hospital was also poised to be used as one of the tourism health facility in Ghana.

Touching on other advantages of laparoscopic surgery, Dr Srofenyoh said pain and hemorrhaging are reduced due to smaller incisions, adding that it increases the turn-over of hospital beds as well as reducing the length of waiting list.