KNUST’s Prof. Owusu-Dabo on Alarming Healthcare Apathy: The healthcare sector in Ghana has been in the eye of a storm of late, but the latest concerns as raised by Prof. Ellis Owusu-Dabo—Principal Investigator of the Africa Higher Education Health Collaborative at KNUST—turn a further spotlight on the sector. It wasn’t just a wake-up call but an impassionate appeal by Prof. Owusu-Dabo for restoration to add back empathy and professionalism into healthcare. Please continue reading to learn more.
KNUST’s Prof. Owusu-Dabo on Alarming Healthcare Apathy
It was announced by Prof. Ellis Owusu-Dabo during a ceremony marking the successful completion of a five-day training program for sixty tutors from seventy-seven KNUST-affiliated Nursing and Midwifery Health Institutions, where this training in health entrepreneurship had been facilitated under the auspices of the Mastercard Foundation. Led by Prof. Wilberforce Owusu-Ansah, the trainees received the education, exposure, and experience prerequisite for the nurturing of a new generation of health entrepreneurs with the capacity to build resilient health ventures within Ghana.
In an address, he profusely expressed deep concern over the rising apathy in Ghana’s healthcare sector. He referred to a very disturbing incident at the Winneba Trauma Hospital where one patient is said to have been abandoned in the bush at Gomoa Ojobi in the Central Region, elaborating that these incidents have really dented the reputation of the sector.
“I still remember my Hippocratic oath. It emphasizes protection and the preservation of life. These are core values for health workers. We worry that many are losing essential competencies needed to deliver quality care with the required empathy,” said Prof. Owusu-Dabo. His words rang into the crucial factor for health personnel to resume being driven by those principles of compassion and empathy.
It was a ten-day training program offered to tutors to equip them with how to infuse an entrepreneurial spirit in their students to have the quality of healthcare delivery improved in Ghana. According to the Special Guest at the opening ceremony, Prof. Kofi Poku, a trainer affects all the lives they touch and makes a difference.
“The cascading effects of the lives you touch are immense. Be minded by your work. Touch lives positively. We have no other Ghana than what we have.”
The graduates were hopeful about the impact of the training. Justina Afriyie Gyamfi from SDA Nursing and Midwifery Training College said, “Before we came here, we had fears and anxieties. Now, we have become critical thinkers.”. “As trainers, we understand our impact on students and the importance of becoming economic thinkers”. Added Boaz Ahulu, Akim Oda Community Health Training School. “If people keep complaining about bad situations, that is an advantage for the entrepreneur. I learned to take advantage of such situations in creating opportunities.”
Conclusion
The concerns of Prof. Ellis Owusu-Dabo with the increasing apathy in the health sector of Ghana are very thought-provoking and there is the need to refocus attention on compassion and professionalism. While KNUST continues to train and empower health professionals, it is hoped that such initiatives will restore faith in Ghana’s healthcare and ensure that the sector thrives with empathy and excellence.
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