Wednesday 1 May 2024
Last month, a team from RCEM, which included Andrew Fryer, Head of International, Dr Giles Cattermole, Dr Nikki Biggs, Dr Rich Parris and Hannah Wilcock (RCEM internationals newest team member), made a visit to Ghana as part of the Department for Health and Social Care and Tropical Health and Education Trust funded programme titled the Global Health Workforce Programme.
The visit was in partnership with the Ghana College of Physicians and Surgeons and included invited guests from the West African College of Physicians, Nigeria.
The main focus of the visit was to deliver a workshop on leadership in Emergency Medicine based on some of the key concepts from the RCEM EMLeaders programme. The workshop also explored the current state of leadership in the health care systems in Nigeria and Ghana, including a focus on mentorship, team building and systems and exploring ways in which leadership could effectively support the development of Emergency Medicine in West Africa.
The workshop covered a session on the importance of well-being and supporting trainees and there was also an opportunity to have team-building challenges, coaching role plays and simulation activities which were then linked back to system challenges.
Andrew Fryer, Head of International at the Royal College of Emergency Medicine, said:
“There’s been some great advancements in Emergency Medicine in Ghana and plans are also developing in Nigeria, as such there is a real interest in leadership amongst qualified Emergency Medicine physicians who will now be involved in the scaling up of Emergency Medicine in both countries.”
The Ghana College of Physicians and Surgeons EM Chair, Dr Kwaku Nyame, stated that the EM leads would: “Review and assess the RCEM EMLeaders eModules and develop a working group to adapt to the local setting and outline next steps to submit this plan to the Ghana College of Surgeons & Physicians senior board for comment and approval.”
The visit also included a visit to the two largest Hosptial sites in Kumasi. The Komfo Anokye teaching hospital (KATH) where Emergency Medicine the site of Ghana’s first Emergency Medicine residency programme. Under the GHWP, the Emergency Medicine faculty based at KATH are looking to support plans to decentralise facility-based Emergency Medical care by supporting the development of Emergency Department at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Kumasi. As such a Memorandum of Understanding between RCEM, GCPS and KNUST was signed to mark the start of this Pilot programme aimed at scaling up Emergency medicine across Ghana.
