University of Ghana Medical Centre

Writer: Jack Salter | Project Manager: Callam Waller

QUATERNARY CARE

The presence of a training and research centre, together with clinical health services, is not a common model in Ghana and indeed the rest of West Africa.”

Research sits in between academia and clinical services, and University of Ghana Medical Centre Ltd. (UGMC) is distinguished in that it has all three located within the same premises.

“We intend to synergise healthcare, training and research for maximum impact and efficiency,” opens Dr. Darius Osei, CEO of UGMC.

The vision of the centre is to be distinguished in these three focal areas, with the UGMC Health Care Services Wing (HCSW) promoting favourable health outcomes through innovative, customer-centred, costeffective and high-quality processes.

By demonstrating compassion, care, and courtesy to patients, as well as collaborating with all stakeholders,

HCSW reflects the globally acclaimed Ghanaian spirit of hospitality that UGMC seeks to embody.

“UGMC is focused on delivering an excellent and unparalleled patient experience through a client-centric approach across all operational facets. We are passionately committed to the provision of patient and family-centred care to ensure better outcomes for our patients and their loved ones,” Dr. Osei emphasises.

“Our 1,000-bed HCSW has the biggest intensive care unit (ICU) in Ghana, the second-largest cardiothoracic centre in the country, and so far we have successfully conducted 12 open-heart surgeries.”

The UGMC Medical Training and Simulation Centre (MTSC), meanwhile, is a nationally recognised, multi-disciplinary academic centre committed to achieving excellence in medical education, through the use of high-quality, cutting-edge

computer-based simulations.

MTSC allows pre-service health professionals to learn various skills in a realistic but risk-free environment before encountering real patients, and enables practicing health professionals to upgrade their ability to diagnose and manage various conditions. Non-health professionals can also acquire basic life support skills at MTSC, which can contribute significantly towards a patient’s survival.

Last but not least, the UGMC Medical and Scientific Research Centre (MSRC) aims to facilitate

University of Ghana Medical Centre Ltd. is positioning itself to offer quaternary services. Dr. Darius Osei, CEO, discusses synergising healthcare, training and research

translational research that will discover new treatments, methods and procedures to improve health in Ghana, Africa, and across the world.

“We are committed to making medical research seamless, and MSRC serves as a central hub for local and internationally funded research projects. Areas of specific focus include cardiovascular genetics, maternal foetal medicine, infectious diseases, clinical trials, and more,” shares Dr. Osei.

QUATERNARY SERVICES

Turnkey construction of UGMC

commenced in 2013, and having been partially operational since July 2018, the second phase of the project was recently completed in December 2021.

The centre, whose client base reached almost 30,000 at the end of 2021, is magnificently nestled on the southernmost tip of the University of Ghana, the country’s premier university located in Legon, Accra, and close to the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research.

Now fully open to the public on a referral and/or appointment basis, the completion of Phase II signifies the

completion of all three UGMC focal areas, as the centre positions itself to offer quaternary services.

“Establishing a quaternary centre is a herculean task, and so as we gear ourselves towards the provision of quaternary services, we need to be resourced with the necessary infrastructure and equipment to be able to deliver more sub-specialised services,” Dr. Osei affirms.

It comes as UGMC plans to become one of the best destinations for medi cal tourism in the sub-region, by offer ing world-class patient care, training and research accessible to all.

BLS training

“The issue of medical tourism has to be looked at from two points of view: that of the quest for quality care, and that of confidentiality for the individuals concerned,” explains Dr. Osei.

“We are therefore working on both fronts to ensure that the centre is a destination of choice, irrespective of the concerns of patients.

“By leveraging the right collabo rations and partnerships, we intend to inspire hope and promote health through advanced clinical practices, education and research,” he continues.

UGMC’s world-class care was demonstrated at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, when the centre was designated as one of the national COVID-19 treatment centres in Ghana by the Ministry of Health.

More than 700 patients diagnosed with COVID-19, including those who required intensive care, were success fully treated by UGMC. The centre

also remotely managed over 4,000 suspected cases by partnering with the international non-governmental organisation, PharmAccess, to work on a digital health innovation called COVID-Connect.

TRAINING THE NEXT GENERATION

The centre began operations in 2018 with a skeletal complement of 127 staff, however its numbers have progressively increased over the years.

Today, UGMC has 1,031 employees, predominantly comprising nurses, midwives, support staff, medical offers and other clinical personnel, as well as a number of specialists, consultants and management staff.

“A total of 43 health professionals have been sponsored by the centre to train in various specialty areas, as part of our strategy to develop our employ ees’ capacity towards quaternary healthcare provision,” Dr. Osei reveals.

GEE

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AFRICA OUTLOOK: WHAT DIFFERENTIATES UGMC’S HEALTHCARE SERVICES FROM THE COMPETITION?

DR. DARIUS OSEI, CEO: “As far as our HCSW clinical health services are concerned, UGMC has the biggest ICU in the country and is the only publicowned medical facility providing IVF services. Further, it houses the secondbiggest cardiothoracic centre in West Africa.

“HCSW rewards value over volume, and encourages providers to focus on the outcomes they achieve and not merely on the number of procedures they perform.

“With regards to MTSC, it is the biggest in West Africa and geared towards addressing resource gaps by training health professionals.

“The latest good news is that MSRC has secured the funds to establish the first ever Clinical Trials Unit in West Africa, to ensure that there is local content as far as clinical trials are concerned – rightly so because Africans have the most genetic diversity in the world.”

Isabella Healthcare

Isabella Healthcare Services (IHS) is a large-scale medical supply distributing company in Ghana specialised in providing surgical consumables to a variety of clinics and hospitals.

Our surgical packs are sterile, prepacked, disposable and produced in accordance with the standards of Ethylene Oxide (EO) sterilisation and Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) in Ghana to ensure patient and healthcare worker safety, efficient management of operating rooms and infection control.

We believe access to quality healthcare products and services is a fundamental human right. Our products are consumer-centered, we design our products with the safety of our client’s patients, healthcare team and daily operations in mind.

HealthCare Services is a medical supply and solution company inspired by our

an experienced healthcare

with

years of clinical

giving us a deep understanding of the healthcare industry. ISABELLA specializes in surgical products and is recognized as the leader in the provision of ISO and FDA-

“We also hold regular leadership training sessions for staff and provide incentives away from what is provided in mainstream public service.”

UGMC is relentless in its pursuit of developing the next generation of healthcare professionals. The centre has signed memoranda of understanding with other health training institutions that have expressed interest in having their undergraduate students trained at MTSC, including the University of Ghana Medical School, Pentecost University, Knutsford University College, and Entrance College of Health and Allied Science.

“MTSC has had a series of simula tion training sessions for both health and non-health professionals within and outside UGMC. We have also started training pre-service health professionals and students from vari ous institutions,” says Dr. Osei.

AFRICA OUTLOOK: HOW DID YOU BECOME INTERESTED IN HEALTHCARE?

DR. DARIUS OSEI, CEO: “After being bitten by a baboon at the age of 14, and being well taken care of by the doctor in my village in a remote part of Ghana, I vowed to become a medical officer when I grew up.

“I am a seasoned hospital leadership and management expert with over 30 years of experience in hospital management, in both the public and private health sectors.

“I have held several hospital management positions, including serving as the Medical Director of a secondary-level healthcare provider in Cape Coast, Ghana, which is now a tertiary provider. I was also the General Manager of a quasi-governmental hospital, The Hospital Trust, for 12 years and oversaw the tremendous growth of the hospital by establishing several satellite clinics and specialist hospitals across the region.

“In July 2018, I was appointed by the President of Ghana, His Excellency, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, as the acting CEO of UGMC to oversee the operationalisation of Ghana’s first ever quaternary medical centre.”

Mammogram machine

IVF facilities

An increasing number of health workers in Ghana are interested in training programmes, thanks to allowances that are being paid by the government to those who show an interest in the industry.

Post-graduate training opportunities also abound for interested individuals, with the Ghanaian government taking care of tuition within two or three years upon completion of housemanship programmes.

“The healthcare industry is thriving in Ghana, and access to care has improved. In the near future, human capital is also going to improve and make the industry more interesting and exciting to be in,” Dr. Osei observes.

PROCUREMENT PARTNERSHIPS

Though UGMC is a limited liability entity owned by government via a special purpose vehicle, all procurement processes are guided by the Public Procurement Act in addition to well laid-down structures as per the centre’s in-house supply chain standard operating policies and procedures.

“We have established relationships with multinationals noted for best practices and compliant to ISO

standards, for the supply of sensitive and complex specialist equipment,” Dr. Osei informs us.

UGMC is very much interested in partnerships that will help with procurement, including the construction of a helipad located near the centre’s main security post, a radiotherapy centre for cancer treatment, a 50-bed infections disease centre, and the provision of accommodation for specialists and other critical staff.

Likewise, the centre wants to enter into more strategic collaborations, that will ensure UGMC’s vision of distinguishing itself in the provision

world-class patient care, training and research does not become diluted or abandoned.

“For the next couple of years, our priority is to ensure that all clinical departments are fully functioning,” Dr. Osei concludes.

UNIVERSITY