The Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital is seeking the urgent prioritisation and construction of a catheterisation laboratory after losing one of its critical medical staff who suffered a heart attack.
Dr. Kwame Adu Ofori, an Emergency Physician at the Hospital, is reported to have died over the weekend when his colleague doctors attempted to save him but lacked the crucial laboratory to treat an obstruction in one of the blood vessels pumping blood to his heart.
The absence of the laboratory at Ghana’s second largest teaching hospital has sparked grave concerns over the poor medical infrastructure in public health facilities in the country, as Ghana boasts of only one such facility located in Accra.
The second-largest teaching hospital in Ghana, the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, had a dismal weekend after medical staff watched helplessly as they sought immediate medical attention for a colleague who had a myocardial infarction, also known as a heart attack.
The top hospital in the Ashanti region lacked a dedicated space for a minimally invasive operation to identify and treat a clogged blood artery to his heart.
He was stabilized right away and taken to the national capital for appropriate treatment, but he passed away en route.
CEO of KATH, Dr. Paa Kwesi Baidoo, recounts moments of the unfortunate demise.
“After the doctors stabilized him, we arranged for a military airlift to transport him immediately to Accra for him to be properly attended to. We arranged a team of doctors and special care nurses for him. They were in touch when they got to Accra but he unfortunately died on their way to the hospital,” he recounted.
Prior to his death, Dr. Kwame Adu Ofori worked as an emergency physician at the hospital. He actively assisted in delivering essential treatment to patients in critical condition, but he was tragically unable to save his own life.
Calls for the construction of a Cath Lab for the institution have been ignored by successive governments.
“When a delegation from Bank of Ghana visited us, I made a plea to them to help us construct a CATH lab. They’ve asked that we submit a proposal to be sent to the Governor,” he said.
NKONKONSA.com
