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| Prof. Agyemang Badu Akosa (M) with dignitaries |
Scores of patients have
benefited from operation and corrective surgeries offered by a team of voluntary
medics with the Operation Walk Syracuse, New York, United States of America, and
their Ghanaian counterparts at the St. Joseph Hospital at Effiduase, Koforidua.
The weeklong programme,
the second of its kind by the group and in partnership with the Gentle Giants,
importers of Vita Milk and the Child Health Malnutrition Foundation, and the
St. Joseph Hospital, was to offer relief to selected patients throughout the
country, suffering from knee and hip disorders.
In all, 65 procedures were
performed on a total of 60 patient beneficiaries, most of whom are now able to
walk with little or no support.
Dr. Kimberley Murray, leader of the 43-member
team of Operation Walk, commended the hospital staff, the Koforidua Catholic
Health Service and the Child Malnutrition Foundation as well as the all stakeholders
for their various roles that ensured the success of the operation.
She expressed the hope of continuity and
strengthening of partnership to offer more support many more patients in future.
Prof. Agyemang Badu
Akosa, Chairman of the Board of the Child Health Malnutrition Foundation, said
to ensure fair regional representation of beneficiaries, the team in
conjunction with local partners screened, accessed and selected the cases prior
to their arrival.
In the process, hundreds of Ghanaians from
all the 10 regions, suffering from hip and knee disorders were screened, with those
in need of the surgeries selected.
The former Director General of the Ghana Health Service noted that
the cost of hip and knee surgeries was over GH₵ 25,000, but free under the
programme, noted that patients were charged an agreed fee of GH₵ 2,000 to help offset
of the minor cost that the St. Joseph Facilities, might incur since the
facility could not could not conduct elective surgeries due to the programme.
Sharing the testimonies of some beneficiaries, Prof Agyemang-Badu,
said it was encouraging hearing the impact the programme was making in the
lives of those who practically had no hope of walking again, being able to walk
now with the corrective surgeries at highly subsidized cost.
Prof Agyemang-Badu commenting on allegation leveled against the
Hospital for extorting monies from the patients in the first edition of
programme, last year debunked the accusation and noted that the findings of an independent
Committee set up by the Ministry of Health to look into the allegation had
exonerated the Hospital from any wrong doing.
Mr. Victus K. Kpesese, Executive Secretary of Koforidua Catholic Health
Service, thanked the team of volunteer medics for their efforts to give relief
to patients in Ghana, and expressed the hope that the programme would be
sustained into the future.
He expressed optimism
that the programme could be extended to at least twice a year to enable the
team ample time to perform more surgeries and help ease the pain and suffering
of many patients.
Similarly, Mr. Valentine
Bruku, Administrator of the St. Joseph Hospital, voiced his gratitude to the team
for sparing their time to embark on the project at the hospital for the second
time and also commended the Gentle Giants and Child Health Nutrition Foundation
for conceiving the laudable idea to help relieve the pains of patients in the
country.
The team which had since
left, also organised a training symposium for some staff of the Hospital to
update and sharpen their skills.
Earlier, the team called
on Rev. Msgr. Francis Tswum-Baarimah, Vicar General of the Koforidua
Diocese.
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