The Upper East Regional Hospital is strengthening its capacity to provide specialist healthcare and postgraduate medical training, with management pursuing new programmes in orthopaedics and mental health.
The hospital has already secured accreditation to train postgraduate doctors in obstetrics and gynaecology, paediatrics and general surgery, while preparations are underway for an assessment towards accreditation in orthopaedics.
Dr Joseph Kojo Tambil, Medical Director of the hospital, disclosed this when the Minister for Health, Mr Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, visited the facility to engage management and doctors as part of efforts to monitor the implementation of the Free Primary Health Care programme in the Upper East Region.
He said the hospital was also working to introduce postgraduate training in psychiatry following the acquisition of the services of a consultant psychiatrist.
Dr Tambil appealed to the Minister to facilitate the release of the psychiatrist from his current posting to enable him to join the Ghana Health Service and support the establishment of the programme.
“If you give us a go-ahead, we can write straight to you so that you instruct his release to us,” he told the Minister.
The Medical Director said the development of postgraduate training at the hospital had received strong backing from Dr Samuel Kaba Akoriyea, Director-General of the Ghana Health Service, whose vision was to establish specialist training at the facility.
He, however, identified internal medicine as the major outstanding area, explaining that some medical officers who could pursue the programme were instead opting for subspecialties such as endocrinology and cardiology.
“One wants to do endocrinology and another, cardiology, but we do not have the setups around here,” he said, adding that the expansion of specialist training in Tamale could eventually create opportunities for subspecialty training.
Beyond postgraduate education, Dr Tambil said the hospital was supporting undergraduate and allied health training through partnerships with various institutions.
He said the facility had an agreement with the University for Development Studies (UDS) Medical School to provide practical training for medical students and was also collaborating with other institutions to expand clinical training opportunities.
The hospital currently serves as a training site for students in nursing, pharmacy, medical laboratory science and nurse anaesthesia.
Dr Tambil said management was simultaneously expanding the hospital’s diagnostic capabilities, including the establishment of a histopathology laboratory.
“We have started the process of setting up a histopathology laboratory. With that we will be able to speed up diagnosis of diseases, including cancers, immunology conditions among others,” he said.
He further disclosed that the hospital had requested an MRI machine from the Ghana Medical Trust Fund and had been assured that the equipment would be installed by the end of the year.
The facility also plans to engage specialist teams from Tamale and Kumasi to undertake regular outreach services in oncology, neurology, and ear, nose and throat care.
Dr Tambil said the combined initiatives would improve access to specialist healthcare in the Upper East Region while creating a stronger practical training environment for doctors, nurses and other health professionals.
