The Director-General of the Ghana Health Service (GHS), Dr Samuel Kaba Akoriyea, has called on hospitals across the country to share medical resources as a means of promoting equitable access to healthcare while reducing the financial burden placed on both individual health facilities and government.
Dr Akoriyea made the call during the handover of a specialised Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) machine from the Greater Accra Regional Hospital, Ridge, to the University of Ghana Medical Centre (UGMC), an arrangement designed to strengthen critical cardiac care and support complex surgical procedures at the receiving facility.
ECMO is a complex life-support device that temporarily takes over the function of a patient’s heart and lungs, allowing these organs to rest and heal following severe disease affecting the heart, lungs or other critical organs.
The technology is typically reserved for patients whose cardiac or respiratory systems have been severely compromised, offering a critical bridge to recovery in cases where conventional treatment options are insufficient.
The machine, which has been temporarily leased to UGMC, was formally handed over to the Centre’s Chief Executive Officer, Dr Abdul Samed-Tanko, by Dr Akoriyea during a ceremony held at the Greater Accra Regional Hospital.
The event was attended by the Regional Director of Health Services, Dr Robert Amesiya, the Director of Medical Affairs of UGMC, Dr Baffoe-Gyan, and the Medical Director of the Greater Accra Regional Hospital, Dr Leslie Issa Adam-Zakariah, alongside other representatives from both institutions.
UGMC Welcomes Development As Boost To Critical Care
Speaking at the ceremony, Dr Akoriyea described the gesture as a clear demonstration of putting patients at the centre of healthcare delivery, framing inter-institutional collaboration as a productivity strategy that other health facilities across the country should consider adopting.
“This is a shining example of putting patients at the centre of healthcare and using collaboration as a productivity strategy, the kind of collaboration worth celebrating and worth replicating.”
Dr Samuel Kaba Akoriye
Reacting to the handover, officials at UGMC expressed enthusiasm about the impact the machine is expected to have on the facility’s ability to manage critically ill patients. According to the Centre, the addition of the ECMO machine will enable it to continue saving more lives, particularly among patients requiring advanced cardiac and respiratory support.
Dr Samed-Tanko further linked the development to UGMC’s broader institutional ambitions, describing the machine’s arrival as a significant step in the Centre’s journey.
“It will move UGMC a step closer to the realisation of its vision to become Ghana’s first quaternary medical centre.”
Dr Samuel Kaba Akoriye
Strengthening National Capacity For Specialised Care
According to the Greater Accra Regional Hospital, the availability of the ECMO machine at UGMC is expected to significantly strengthen the facility’s capacity to manage critically ill patients requiring this highly specialised form of life support, a service that remains limited within Ghana’s broader health system.
The handover forms part of a formal arrangement between the two institutions aimed at ensuring that the specialised equipment is put to optimal use for the benefit of patients, rather than remaining underutilised at a single facility.
Officials from both hospitals described the initiative as an example of resource optimisation between health institutions working toward the shared goal of expanding access to critical care services nationally.
Beyond the immediate transfer of equipment, the initiative has been held up as an illustration of the value of partnership, collaboration and resource-sharing among health institutions in strengthening Ghana’s overall capacity to deliver specialised and critical care.
Officials noted that such arrangements help prevent the duplication of expensive medical equipment across multiple facilities, allowing scarce resources to be directed to where patient need is greatest at any given time.
Ridge Hospital Reaffirms Commitment To Collaborative Care
The Greater Accra Regional Hospital reaffirmed its commitment to continuing partnerships of this nature, stating that such collaborations promote the efficient use of healthcare resources while contributing directly to improved patient outcomes and the saving of lives.
With the ECMO machine now operational at UGMC, attention will likely turn to how the two institutions manage the shared arrangement going forward, and whether similar resource-sharing partnerships emerge between other health facilities as the GHS continues to encourage collaboration as a strategy for strengthening Ghana’s broader healthcare delivery system.
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