Vice President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia has commissioned a one-million-dollar catheterization laboratory at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital in Accra.

According to him, the lab was funded by the Central Bank of Ghana as part of its Corporate Social Responsibilities. To this end, he expressed gratitude to Dr. Addison and the Bank of Ghana.

“I commissioned a one million dollar ($1m) catheterization laboratory, the most advanced Cath Lab in the country, and its accompanying Big Detector, dyna CT and roadmap software, and 3D workstation – essential requirements for achieving accurate and effective minimally invasive treatments at Korle Bu Teaching Hospital which was procured and funded by the Bank of Ghana after an appeal from me to the Governor for the Bank to consider funding the acquisition of such essential medical equipment as part of its Corporate Social Responsibility.”
Dr Mahamudu Bawumia

Dr Bawumia revealed that the lab will greatly enhance Ghana’s capabilities to provide cardiac catheterization, stenting for various conditions and emergency treatment of strokes and thromboembolic phenomena, and other life-saving interventions.

He stated that although government continues to invest heavily in the health sector, with unprecedented recruitment of health personnel, the provision of infrastructure such as the Agenda 111 projects, and the introduction of medical drone delivery services, the cost of providing some cutting-edge equipment cannot always be borne by government. In light of this, he noted that it is therefore imperative that hospital management explore other options.

Speaking at the launch, the Vice President challenged hospitals and other medical facilities across the country to partner with the private sector to provide and maintain essential equipment in order to help the facilities offer top-notch care to patients.

Underscoring the importance of advanced, modern equipment in the delivery of quality healthcare, Vice President Bawumia acknowledged Government’s difficulty in solely meeting all the demands of the hundreds of health facilities across the country and challenged the management of such facilities to be proactive and engage all stakeholders.

Management of Korle Bu Teaching Hospital Thanks Bawumia, BoG

On their part, the Board, Management and staff of the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital expressed gratitude to the Vice President and leadership of the Bank of Ghana (BoG), for the various roles they played in the acquisition and installation of a Catherization Laboratory at the nation’s premier health facility.

Officials of the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital revealed that Ghana is currently the only country in the West Africa subregion offering advanced minimally invasive endovascular treatments (performing brain surgeries without cutting the skull) for conditions such as brain aneurysms, and the acquisition of this Lab is expected to reduce the incidence of patients being referred abroad for further tests and treatments.

By investing in such advanced medical facilities, they expressed that Ghana can also attract and retain skilled medical professionals, improve the training of local doctors and enhance the quality of care provided to patient.

Speaking at the commissioning of the Lab in Accra, the Chief Executive Officer of the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, Dr Opoku Ware Ampomah, noted that Management of the hospital has been working assiduously to acquire, maintain and improve upon existing facilities, with investments into various aspects of the healthcare space through strategic partnerships.

“This investment by the Bank of Ghana in sponsoring the full cost of the Catherization Lab is a case in point. Thank you so much Bank of Ghana. This will greatly enhance our capabilities to provide cardiac catherization, stenting for various conditions and emergency treatment of strokes and thromboembolic phenomena and other life-saving interventions.”
Dr Opoku Ware Ampomah

Describing Dr Bawumia as “a friend of Korle Bu”,Dr Ampomah recalled the instrumental role played by the Vice President, from engaging the Governor of the Bank of Ghana to see the acquisition of the Catherization Lab as an essential item that could fall under the Bank’s Social Responsibility obligations, through regular visits and updates during the installation process, to the commissioning.

“Your Excellency, Korle Bu Hospital is indeed very grateful to you for your advocacy and personal interest which has brought the project to reality.”
Dr Opoku Ware Ampomah