Ghana is now the hub of Emergency Medicine Training in West Africa

Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Ghana in collaboration with the University of Michigan, USA under the Medical Education Partnership Initiative (MEPI) project has trained the first ever cohorts of emergency physicians and nurses to augment the human resource needed to render service in emergency medical care in some selected hospitals in Ghana. A total of fifteen (15) Emergency Medicine Specialists have completed the programme with the Ghana College of Physicians and surgeons (GCPS) and are currently working in hospitals in the Ashanti, Greater Accra and Northern regions. Twenty three (23) additional residents are at different levels of the three-year training programme.  Thirty-Five (35) Emergency Nurses have also been trained and have been posted to facilities across eight regions in the country whilst fifty (50) trainees are expected to complete by 2016.  Over 100 Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs) have also been trained in triaging, resuscitation and acute care management.  Ghana has therefore become the hub of Emergency Medicine Training in West Africa.

In a dissemination meeting held on the 10th of April 2015 in connection with the achievements of the Medical Education Partnership Initiative (MEPI) project, it was revealed that following the May 9, 2001 Accra Sports Stadium disaster and its subsequent revelation of the country’s incapability to handle such emergencies, a collaborative effort from to Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH), University of Michigan and the Ghana College of Physicians and Surgeons (GCPS)  led to the establishment of the Emergency Medicine Training Programme in 2009. In 2010, KNUST and its partners led by Professor Peter Donkor, received an award under the MEPI project funded by the US President’s Project For Aids and Research (PEPFAR) and the USA National Institutes of Health (NIH) to train emergency personnel.

In his address, Professor Peter Donkor, the Principal Investigator of the Programme, stated that the MEPI project which is a five-year programme executed its activities in four components. The first component involeved the training of emergency personnel i.e. emergency medicine specialists, emergency nurses, EMTs and undergraduate medical and nursing students. The other components were HIV/AIDS-related emergency care, education and research; Initiative on Research and Innovation Management and Medico-Legal Training for healthcare workers.

He also said that, under MEPI t, goals were achieved through the collaborative efforts of the KNUST, University of Michigan, USA, KATH, GCPS and the National Ambulance Service.

KATH, which is the main hub and training centre, in the country is fully equipped to handle emergencies in the country. The Tamale Teaching and Tema General hospitals have also established emergency units run by trained specialists.

Dr. Ebenezer Appiah Denkyira, the Director General of the Ghana Health Service, attested to the contributions that the trained personnel have made to the delivery of emergency care in Ghana. Prof. Ahmed Zakaria, Director of the National Ambulance Service (NAS), revealed that the new specialists have been providing training for the EMTs at the NAS Training School and the proficiency demonstrated by the technicians is a testament to the high level of training received from the specialists. 

Dr. Joseph Akpaloo, the Chief Executive of KATH, applauded Professor Peter Donkor and his collaborative partners for the successes chalked and said that the programme had  brought about significant gains in the provision of emergency medical care at the hospital.