TAMALE TEACHING HOSPITAL OFFERS CLINICAL TRAINING (PAGE 11)

THE Tamale Teaching Hospital has been given the green light to offer clinical training to medical students of the University for Development Studies (UDS) in Tamale.
The Director-General of the Ghana Health Service, Dr Elias Sory who announced this in Tamale, said the hospital had received accreditation from the Ghana Medical and Dental Council to that effect.
He indicated that a governing council would soon be constituted to manage the affairs of the hospital which is the only referral health facility for the entire three northern regions.
Dr Sory was speaking at the 16th annual District Directors of Health Services Group Conference on the theme; “Strengthening Sub-district Systems for Effective Implementation of the High Impact Rapid Delivery (HIRD) towards achieving MDG 4 and 5.’’
This announcement follows an earlier statement by the acting Vice-Chancellor of the UDS, Professor Kaku Sagari Nokoe, in February this year that, the medical students had already begun lectures at the Tamale campus of the school.
He said the school was also putting the necessary mechanisms in place to begin its clinical training after preparing the grounds at selected district and regional hospitals in the three northern and Brong Ahafo regions as a back-up to the Tamale Teaching Hospital.
And as part of the process of having students to undergo all their training in the catchments zones, 35 students who have successfully completed their pre-clinical in October last year were to start their bridging programme in Tamale from April this year.
As at February this year, the SMHS had 66, 86 and 36 students in their third, second and first year respectively.
‘‘The presence of several doctor-trainees in our district hospital will have considerable effect that can readily be assessed,’’ the VC indicated.
He observed that, ‘‘after more than 10 years of existence we believe it is time to stop transferring students to sister schools in Accra and Kumasi for clinical training; hence our wholehearted welcome to the change of the Ghana Medical and Dental Council.’’
Prof. Nokoe noted that to maintain the old practice of sending the students to the traditional medical schools was to defeat the purpose for which the SMHS was set up which is to train its students in typically deprived rural environments to equip them with the requisite theoretical and first-hand practical skills to enable them remain in those settings and render services at the end of their training.
He added, ‘‘what we need now is a high level of understanding, patience, encouragement and support from all and sundry.’’