ANU President underscores the need for well-trained emergency medicine workforce to support healthcare delivery

A GROUP PHOTO OF MANAGEMENT OF ANU AND GRADUATES

President of the All Nations University (ANU), Dr Samuel Donkor has stated the need for the country to have a well-trained emergency medicine workforce to support healthcare delivery.

According to him, such an emergency medicine workforce could help streamline the healthcare system by reducing overcrowding in emergency departments, improving triage processes, and efficiently managing resources in the country’s hospitals.

“This will enable a smooth transition from the scene of emergency to the hospital and will allow for timely interventions which will ultimately lead to cost savings,” he said.

Dr Samuel Donkor made this known during the 30th Convocation ceremony of the graduating class of 2023 held in Koforidua on the theme: “The Impact of Emergency Services on Ghana’s Healthcare Delivery.”

The graduation ceremony saw the first batch of 57 Graduate students graduating from the university in various disciplines including Human Resource Development, Banking and Finance, and Accounting, among others.

258 Undergraduate and eight Diploma students also graduated from the university in the same disciplines.

Dr Donkor continued that although Ghana’s healthcare system has made progress in improving access to care and health outcomes, it was important for healthcare facilities to get a well-trained emergency medicine workforce to help resolve issues of overcrowding and ensure quick response to emergency cases to save lives.

He said the workforce has become necessary, especially after the devastation of the COVID-19 pandemic which has wreaked havoc on many educational institutions and the lives of countless individuals.

Dr Donkor said the University has received accreditation to offer a 4-year-Bachelor’s degree in Emergency Medicine Technology, where healthcare professionals would be trained with skills and knowledge to provide immediate and appropriate emergency care.

He stated that the training of such professionals could help to significantly improve patients’ outcomes and would help to reduce morbidity and mortality rates.  

“Pre-hospital is a critical component for emergency injuries in accidents, heart attacks among others and pre-hospital interventions can significantly affects a patient’s outcome and are akin to the care provided in the hospital,” he said and added that well-trained graduates would provide first aid, emergency and disaster management to victims before they get to the hospital.

He added that graduates would have numerous opportunities to work with the Ghana Ambulance services, Police, and Army among others.

Congratulating the graduates, Dr Donkor stated that the graduates after acquiring their degrees have embarked on a new journey to the unknown and urged them to use the knowledge and skills acquired to achieve higher heights while he hoped that would prosper in good health for successful careers in their future endeavours.

For his part, the Executive Chairman of JL Holdings and Member of the Board of Governors of ANU, Dr James Orleans-Lindsay noted that estimates suggested that emergency care could address 54 to 90 per cent of deaths and 900 million to 2.5 billion disabilities in low and middle-income countries.

He said the data underscores the need for sufficient logistics, infrastructure, education and training of the human resources to help save lives in the country, and added that ANU’s desire to contribute to the global paradigm was heartwarming.

He said the theme was a call to action and a reminder of collective responsibility towards building a resilient and compassionate nation and urged stakeholders to support and strengthen emergency services by ensuring that the country continued to thrive in unforeseen challenges.

From Ama Tekyiwaa Ampadu Agyeman, Koforidua