BY GRACE ZIGAH
Access to specialised kidney treatment in northern Ghana is set to receive a major boost as Ghana Medical Help has launched an intensive training programme for clinical and biomedical engineers to ensure the long-term maintenance and sustainability of newly installed dialysis machines across hospitals in the Upper West and Upper East regions.
The specialised five-day workshop, being held at the Upper West Regional Hospital in Wa, is designed to equip engineers with the technical expertise required to service, troubleshoot and repair dialysis machines locally, reducing dependence on technicians from southern Ghana and ensuring uninterrupted treatment for patients suffering from kidney disease.
The initiative forms part of Ghana Medical Help’s broader Acute Kidney Care Project, which seeks not only to improve access to life-saving dialysis services but also to guarantee that the sophisticated medical equipment remains fully operational for years to come.
Country Director of Ghana Medical Help, Dr. Dominic Akateba, said the organisation has undergone remarkable transformation since it was founded in 2010 by a group of medical students determined to address the chronic shortage of medical equipment in underserved communities across Ghana.
He explained that what started with the donation of basic medical equipment such as blood pressure monitors has evolved into a comprehensive healthcare intervention programme covering maternal and newborn health, continuous professional development for healthcare workers, scholarships for brilliant but financially disadvantaged medical students, livelihood support for widows, and specialised kidney care services.
“This is our 16th year of operations, and we have moved beyond equipment donation to implementing seven major projects aimed at strengthening healthcare delivery, particularly in northern Ghana,” Dr. Akateba stated.
As part of its latest intervention, Ghana Medical Help recently donated 17 dialysis machines to four major hospitals in the Upper West and Upper East regions to improve access to renal care for patients who previously had to travel long distances to receive treatment.
Under the distribution, the Upper West Regional Hospital received seven dialysis machines, while St. Theresa’s Hospital in Nandom, the War Memorial Hospital in Navrongo and Sandema Hospital each received three dialysis machines.
Dr. Akateba stressed that donating sophisticated medical equipment alone is not enough to improve healthcare outcomes unless local professionals are equipped with the knowledge to operate and maintain the machines effectively.
“We don’t just donate equipment. We train dialysis nurses to effectively manage patients, educate communities on preventing kidney disease, and build the capacity of clinical engineers to maintain the machines,” he said.
To ensure the engineers receive world-class technical instruction, Ghana Medical Help partnered with certified engineers from Fresenius, the renowned German manufacturer of the dialysis machines. The experts are providing practical training in preventive maintenance, fault diagnosis, repairs and servicing of the specialised equipment.
Beyond dialysis machines, participants are also using the workshop to repair other faulty medical equipment brought in from participating hospitals, helping restore critical healthcare devices that had previously been out of service.
Senior Clinical Engineering Manager at the Upper West Regional Hospital, John Nsoh, described the programme as both timely and transformational for healthcare delivery in northern Ghana.
