Health News of Wednesday, 8 May 2019

Source: ghananewsagency.org

Suncity Medical team completes more than 120 surgeries

File: Diseases including Fibroids, cysts, and hernia were treated File: Diseases including Fibroids, cysts, and hernia were treated

A group of Surgeons, Suncity Medical Outreach Team has ended its third annual outreach programme at the Sunyani Municipal Hospital (SMH) with the successful completion of more than 120 cases of surgery.
The figure included; 15 minor surgeries, whereas about 200 out-patient department (OPD) cases were also treated.

The nature of diseases treated within the four-day period, Wednesday, May 1 to Saturday, May 4 were; Uterine Fibroids, Uterine Prolapse, Ovarian Cyst, Hernia, Prostate, Bartholin’s Cyst, Hydrocele, Lipoma, Ganglion Cyst, in addition to General Health Consultations.

Mr Ransford Antwi, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Suncity Multimedia Company Limited, the organisers and sponsors of the programme told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in an interview in Sunyani.

The first two series were held at the Kwatire Polyclinic in the Sunyani West District,where more than 200 cases of major and minor surgeries were handled, besides same figure for OPD cases were dealt with, he stated.

The team, led by Professor Stephen Tabiri, a Consultant Surgeon at the Tamale Teaching Hospital and Vice Dean of the University of Development Studies Medical School comprised 12 Doctors, including; an Urologist and an Anesthetist.

Mr Antwi said patients did not pay any consultation and treatment fees,as the only requirement was the registration of a client with a National Health Insurance Scheme to qualify for treatment.

He said unlike the 2017 and 2018 programmes, this year prostate cases were treated because an Urologist, Dr. Emmanuel Owusu of the St. Mary’s Catholic Hospital at Drobo, capital of the Jaman South Municipality, Bono Region joined the Team.

Other members included; Dr. James Boakye Fordjour, a Gynaecologist at the Sunyani Regional Hospital and the Seventh-Day Adventist Hospital, Sunyani, Dr. Robert Arko, a General Surgeon and Medical Superintendent of the SMH.
The rest were; Dr. Adriana Adam, Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH), Dr. Joel A. Duah, the Medical Superintendent of the Kukuom Government Hospital, Asunafo South District of Ahafo Region, Dr. Adu Appiah-Kubi, Gynaecologist at KATH and a lecturer at the University of Health and Allied Sciences Medical School, Ho and Dr. Frank Gyamfi, a Surgeon at KATH.

Professor Tabiri in another interview observed “a lot of people need surgical treatment, but the challenge is either they don’t know where to go or lack the money to afford it”.

He said there was therefore the need for philanthropists, charitable and corporate organisations to come on board to support the Suncity Multimedia to finance the programme for the benefit of even more people.

Prof. Tabiri explained that the support could be the acquisition of surgical consumables, drugs and financing of some poor and needy patients in remote areas in the Bono, Bono East and Ahafo Regions.