Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH), the nation�s second largest referral facility, says it is pursuing multiple strategies to bring down maternal and child deaths.
These include training of relevant medical and health professionals in key hospitals within its catchment area to efficiently manage maternal and neonatal cases and assigning consultants and senior specialists to these facilities for regular consultation on emergency case management.
Professor Ohene Adjei, the Chief Executive, said they had additionally set up a communication system with the support of Airtel Ghana, under which the beneficiary facilities are being supplied with cellular phones from which they could make free calls to consultants to discuss management options of such cases when necessary.
KATH from 2008 and the first half of 2013, has been recording between 700 and 1000 deaths per 100,000 live births.
Prof Ohene Adjei announced the measures at a day�s conference on maternal and neonatal health care in Kumasi.
It was organized under the Ministry of Health�s Maternal Accelerated Framework, to provide a consultative platform to fine-tune strategies being proposed by the hospital to address neonatal and pregnancy-related complications referred to the hospital.
Participants from about 20 selected hospitals in Ashanti, Brong Ahafo, Central and the Western Regions that directly fall within the catchment of KATH, attended the event.
Prof Ohene Adjei spoke of plans to re-train critical staff of the Obstetrics and Gynaecology (O&G) and Child Health Directorates to better handle complicated cases - referral and admitted patients.
Intensive care facilities at the hospital are also been expanded to better deal with emergencies.
Again, a public education team had been formed to sensitize the public on how to prevent maternal and neonatal complications and deaths.
Prof Ohene Adjei said these interventions were being implemented based on the observation that most of the cases referred to KATH come at an advanced stage when conditions of patients had worsen beyond recovery.
He spoke of the need for effective collaboration and continuous engagement to address challenges and prevent avoidable deaths saying their goal is to assist achieve the millennium development goals (MDGs) on health.
Dr Kwabena Opoku Adusei, President of the Ghana Medical Association (GMA), lauded KATH�s decision to send consultants to the peripheral hospitals to support health care delivery and said this would not only help to improve care but reduce pressure on the referral facility.
He called on government to act with some urgency to complete the maternity block at KATH, work on which started about 34 years ago, to reduce congestion.
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