Director appeals for oncology unit for the Upper East Regional Hospital

Dr. Joseph Kojo Tambil, Director of the Upper East Regional Hospital, has called for the establishment of an oncology unit and additional diagnostic facilities to enhance cancer treatment and reduce patient referrals to other healthcare centers. The hospital requires an oncology unit, a histopathology laboratory, and biosafety equipment to improve its ability to diagnose and treat cancer patients.

At a stakeholder engagement organized by the Ghana Medical Trust Fund (MahamaCare), Dr. Tambil noted that the hospital had identified over 30 potential or confirmed cancer cases but had to refer some to other facilities due to limited specialist services. The primary constraints, he pointed out, were the shortage of oncologists and a histopathology laboratory.

He appealed to the Ghana Medical Trust Fund to provide support for the necessary facilities and emphasized the need for a biosafety cabinet to protect healthcare workers from hazardous drug exposure during chemotherapy administration. Dr. Tambil praised President John Dramani Mahama for establishing the Ghana Medical Trust Fund, describing the initiative as timely as Ghana faces increasing non-communicable diseases like cancer.

He explained that a single cancer patient can significantly impact a family's economic situation and stressed that the Fund's support would benefit patients and their families. He also commended the Fund's nationwide stakeholder engagements and progress made since their first meeting with the hospital a year ago. The hospital had already received a medicine donation from the Fund and an arterial blood gas analyser to monitor critically ill patients in intensive care, improving care quality and saving lives.

Additionally, the hospital is set to receive more equipment, including an MRI machine, chemistry analysers, and mechanical ventilators, to enhance diagnostic and critical care services. While the hospital functions as a secondary-level referral center, Dr. Tambil advocates converting it into a teaching hospital to access more resources and specialist services.

He noted that teaching hospitals often receive resources before regional hospitals and called for the debate on establishing a teaching hospital in Bolgatanga to focus on timing rather than location. He urged stakeholders, including traditional leaders, to support the hospital's upgrade, emphasizing that Bolgatanga should not be left out of Ghana's progress in developing teaching hospitals in other regions.