By Samuel Akumatey
Ho, March 31, GNA – The Ho Teaching Hospital (HTH) has reduced pregnancy-related deaths by 40 per cent in 2022.
The Teaching Hospital recorded 14 maternal losses in 2022, down from 23 in 2021 while neonatal deaths slightly increased from 99 in 2021 to 103 in 2022.
Dr John Tampouri, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Hospital, said this at the 2022 Annual Performance Review.
He said there was “a slight decrease” in live births from 1,975 to 1,909.
He said, “we are committed to strengthening our maternal and neonatal healthcare services to improve the outcome for both mother and child.”
The CEO said although deaths recorded at the facility increased from 1,016 to 1,018, it represented a decrease in the death rate from 9.2 to 8.6 per cent and assured: “we are committed to continuously improving our patient outcomes and reducing our mortality rate even further.”
Out-Patient Department attendance for the year under review stood at 194,717, from 158,226 the year before, while admissions also rose from 11,051 to 12,380.
The Teaching Hospital performed a total of 2,489 surgeries in 2022, a sharp rise from 1,856 the prior year.
There were more than 13,000 radiology procedures and over 8,000 ultrasound services provided as general laboratory procedures increased from 90,000 to 108,000.
He said the rise in the number of services rendered showed growing trust and confidence in the community.
The annual review was on the theme: “Translating Our Innovative Tertiary Health Services, Medical Education and Research into Medical/Health Tourism,” and the CEO said the institution most celebrated the increase in staff strength as it reached for the spot as the nation’s top health tourism destination
“One of our key achievements is the growth in our staff strength, which has increased from 1,497 in 2021 to 1,553 in 2022. We have also seen a significant increase in the number of House Officers and Clinical Staff from UHAS, which is a testament to the bonding between UHAS and HTH.
“Despite the increase in the human resource, we have also experienced an increase in attrition and separation from 44 in 2021 to 95 in 2022, and we remain steadfast in our efforts to retain and attract the best talent to deliver the innovative tertiary health care, medical education and research aimed at making the Hospital the medical tourism destination of Ghana,” the CEO stated.
Dr Tampouri said the expansion of partnerships with other healthcare providers and spirited organisations both local and international, helped boost its growth, and would be sustained.
He said a mobile clinic project launched recently was realised through the collaborative efforts of the Anglican Church Diocese and the Rotary Club.
The CEO used the occasion to draw stakeholder attention to the accompanying challenges of accommodation.
“The greatest challenge facing us is inadequate accommodation. Our wards are congested, especially the Accident and Emergency Department. The occupancy rate at the Emergency Department in 2022 was 151.8 per cent even though the average length of stay has decreased drastically to two days compared to five days in 2021.
“Another major worry is that while the staff numbers have increased, the offices remained the same resulting in congestion in most offices including some Directors who share an office with their staff. The issue of infrastructure (service delivery areas, offices, accommodation, and health technologies) is critical to enable us to achieve our medical tourism agenda.
“We want to exert a lot of effort in preparing ourselves for international accreditation programmes such as ISO 15819 and JCI Accreditation to enable the hospital to attract international patients.
To this end we are calling on the Government to create the necessary environment for medical tourism such as appropriate legislation and attractive medical travel environment for clients who wants to visit Ghana for medical/health tourism,” he said.
The review conference was attended by staff and management of the hospital as well as heads of sister facilities from across the country.
Present also was Professor Lydia Aziato, Vice Chancellor of the University for Health, and Allied Sciences (UHAS), who called for more training collaboration and consideration for traditional medicine and non-drug therapies.
Mr Felix Nyanteh, a Member of the Hospital’s Board, who chaired the event, said innovation remained crucial to reaching the sought heights of impact in the lives of humanity.
He delivered a special appreciation form the Board and Management to the Volta Development Forum, the leading advocacy group in the Volta Region, for its contributions to the success of the health facility.
Deserving staff were awarded plaques for their dedication and commitment during the year.
GNA