Accra: The Ghana Health Service (GHS) on Monday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with two health training institutions in Accra, aimed at enhancing the education and retention of medical specialists in the country. This agreement was reached with the Ghana College of Physicians and Surgeons and C.K. Tedam University of Technology and Applied Sciences, focusing on strengthening clinical progression for medical officers and boosting the specialist workforce.
According to Ghana News Agency, the education and training initiative will initially be piloted in the Upper East Region. Professor Samuel Kaba Akoriyea, the Director General of GHS, stated that the MoU is set to improve healthcare delivery and ensure satisfactory conditions of service for medical professionals within Ghana’s health sector. He highlighted the collaborative effort as a means to decentralize specialist medical training and enhance healthcare education nationwide.
Prof Richard Adanu, the Rector of the Ghana College of Physicians and Surgeons, emphasized that the partnership aims to enhance the training of medical students and increase the number of medical specialists in the regions to provide comprehensive care. Under this agreement, doctors who have completed their basic specialist training will advance their training at regional hospitals in the Upper East Region. Additionally, beneficiaries will offer clinical teaching services to C.K. Tedam University and potentially upgrade to roles such as lecturers or senior lecturers, clinicians, and educators at the university.
Prof Adanu mentioned that the program will be expanded nationwide following a successful pilot phase. He envisions a strong partnership between the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Health, enabling hospitals to serve as training centers for medical students without converting them into traditional teaching hospitals.
Prof Albert Luguterah, the Vice Chancellor of C.K. Tedam University of Technology and Applied Sciences, expressed the university’s commitment to supporting the initiative and training more health professionals to become lecturers.