More than forty patients with fibroid, hernia, lipoma, and other health conditions can now breathe a sigh of relief after successfully undergoing free screening and surgical operations at the Atiwa Community Hospital located at Akyem Anyinam Moseaso in the Atiwa East District of the Eastern Region of Ghana.
The exercise, which lasted for five days, was carried out by healthcare volunteers from Ghana and the USA as part of an annual medical outreach project organised by the Ghana Healthcare Volunteers of Georgia, (GHVOG) based in the USA. The group has, in the past years, raised funds, extended similar services, and donated medical supplies to underprivileged communities in many regions of Ghana.
Speaking on the last day of the exercise, one of the volunteers, an obstetrician gynecologist based in the USA, Dr. Thelma Asare, expressed satisfaction with the exercise and the extent of recovery by the beneficiaries. She advised Ghanaians to develop the habit of going for regular checkups and to take advantage of such free health care missions to ensure early detection and treatment of any underlying health conditions.
Dr. Asare disclosed that one of the cases proved very complicated and could pass as one of the biggest in her over 30 years’ career. She was, however, happy with the successful outcome. She said her decision to offer her services for this and other previous missions is informed by her desire to give back.
“We know that our society needs a lot of help. Healthcare is one of those things. It is not in our nature to go for general screening to see how we’re doing. We wait till we’re sick, and so we’re trying to get people in the habit of doing general checkups,” Dr. Asare said.
“The sense of volunteerism is very strong where I live now. I don’t find it so strong here and so just trying to give back a bit because as I see it, I was born in this little village. My house is there. Don’t know what would have been if I had not been fortunate to basically move abroad, so whatever you can do, is always appreciated. So that is our motivation,” she concluded.
A surgical technician and a member of the volunteer team, Mrs. Crystal Oladele described her experience as amazing and satisfying, promising to avail herself again in the future to offer free services to patients. She was impressed with local practitioners’ ability to improvise and make the best of limited resources. Mrs. Oladele, however, touched on a power outage incident in the operation room during some of the procedures, describing it as unfamiliar in her part of the world.
“In the operation room, light has gone out a couple of times and in America that’s a big deal. If the lights go out, you can’t operate, but Dr. Asare did everything and doesn’t panic. Once your surgeon is calm, everything goes smoothly. I think that’s a non compromisable thing for me,” she recounted.
The beneficiaries expressed their appreciation to the team for their invaluable services. One of them, Madam Akos (not her real name), who was operated on for fibroid and hernia, was full of praise for the medical team, especially Dr. Thelma Asare for her expertise.
“All that we heard about the exercise was true. The operation was absolutely free, and we didn’t pay even a dime. I had a fibroid and hernia, but the doctor did a good job. I feel okay now. I thank Dr. Asare and her team very much,” Madam Akos said.
The Ghana Healthcare Volunteers of Georgia Inc. is a US-based non-profit healthcare professional organisation of medical doctors, pharmacists, nurses and other healthcare professionals committed to promoting health through education and outreach programs. It was founded to respond to the needs of many Ghanaians and other underserved communities who have difficulty accessing and obtaining basic healthcare and health information.