Cardio now examinations centre

Story: Albert K. Salia
THE West African College of Surgeons has designated the National Cardio-Thoracic Centre (NCTC) of the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital as an examination centre for the college.
Hitherto, post-graduate students had to go to Ibadan, Nigeria, to be examined for consideration as surgeons.
The centre, on Wednesday, October 24, 2007, saw two doctors who trained in Ghana successfully pass an examination held there.
One of them, Dr Kow Entsua-Mensah, a Ghanaian, qualified as the fifth Ghanaian heart surgeon to be trained at the centre.
The others are Dr Lawrence Sereboe, Dr Mark Tettey, Dr Frank Edwin and Dr Mark Tamatey.
The Director of the NCTC, Professor Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng, who disclosed this to the Daily Graphic in an interview, described the recognition as a monumental achievement which Ghanaians should be proud of.
He said for the centre to be designated as such within 15 years of its existence could not be overlooked, especially when it started from nothing.
He commended the college, particularly Professor Rudolf Darko, the Head of the Department of Surgery of the University of Ghana Medical School and Chief Examiner of the Faculty of Surgery of the college, for the untiring efforts in making the centre an examination centre.
“For the first time, the centre played host to examiners of the college from other countries to examine those who trained in Ghana,” he added.
Prof Frimpong-Boateng said when the college recognised the centre as a Centre of Excellence for medical training some few years ago, he knew it would not be long for it be to designated as an examination centre.
He said apart from the five Ghanaians who had passed as heart surgeons, the centre had also trained 21 doctors from abroad to qualify as heart surgeons.
He said there was a Ghanaian doctor from the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital currently training to specialise as a heart surgeon, adding that he was hopeful that the doctor would qualify within two years.
Prof Frimpong-Boateng called on the government to consider establishing additional cardio centres in the country to complement what was at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital.
He said apart from helping to ease the congestion at the centre, it would encourage more doctors to train in heart surgery to take up positions in the other centres.