By: Mabel Esinam Awagah
The National Cardiothoracic Centre, NCC, has launched activities to mark its 35th Anniversary in Accra. A bust has also been unveiled to honor Professor Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng for his contribution to the center.
The Center which was established in 1989 has saved many lives while offering training to both Ghanaian health professionals and other nationals.
Speaking at the event, the Director of the National Cardiothoracic Center, Dr. Kow Entsua-Mensah underscored the critical role the center has played in the nation’s development.
He said the Center has contributed not just in the area of health, but also in revenue mobilization.
Dr. Entsua-Mensah emphasized that the center has saved the country about 70 billion dollars of direct hospital costs from surgeries performed on 13,451 patients so far.
Dr. Entsua-Mensah however called for urgent attention in the area of infrastructure, adding that, the current mode of healthcare delivery must be enhanced to meet the current demand.
“After 35 years, we are very much aware that the nature of heart diseases we have been encountering is quite different from what pertains to the journals and books authored by non-Africans. It is common knowledge that our patients respond differently to some of the available medications for treating heart diseases. We have the task of leading Africans in groundbreaking research into cardio biometrics and generics, gene sequencing, and genetic characterization of heart diseases that affect us as Africans”, he emphasized.
The National Cardiothoracic Center has a long and lustrous history of excellent healthcare delivery since its existence for the past 35 years.
It has so far trained nine cardiothoracic surgeons for Ghana and 15 surgeons for Nigeria. The center is also the training hub for cardiothoracic anesthetics and peri-operative nursing in West Africa.
The Director of the Cardiothoracic Center, Dr. Ekow Entsua-Mensah emphasized that the center, despite its successes, is in need of advancement in physical infrastructure, and improved specialty training, research, and clinical trials to help the center continue to deliver on its mandate.
Dr. Entsua-Mensah eulogized the founding father of the center, Prof Frimpong Boateng, and individuals who have contributed to the advancement of the center.
The Board Chairman Dr. David Nkansah-Dwamena said the center’s role in some specialty training has been pivotal, inspiring the creation of other centers of excellence within the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital.
He called on the young medical professionals to be guided by the aspirations of the founders of the center to help it expand its services.
The former Minister for Health, Alex Segbefia commended the resilience of the management of the center, noting that, despite the political changes, the center has remained committed to its core mandates and has offered world-class services to the nation and beyond.
The celebration of the anniversary will include activities such as an exhibition, medical outreach, and thanksgiving service to climax it.
