Mahama Cares’ one-year impact at KATH feels like 70 years – CEO

The Chief Executive Officer of the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH), Dr. Paa Kwesi Baidoo, has described the impact of the Ghana Medical Trust Fund, popularly known as Mahama Cares, on the hospital as extraordinary, saying its interventions within just one year feel like those of an institution that has been around for decades.

His comments followed the presentation of medical equipment and consumables worth more than GH¢4 million to KATH by the Ghana Medical Trust Fund.

The items include a fully equipped Olympus endoscopy tower for gastroscopy and colonoscopy, two jaundice meters, as well as respiratory, oxygen therapy and anaesthesia consumables.

The equipment was part of a larger consignment donated to the Trust Fund by Lifecare Technology Ghana.

Dr. Baidoo said the donation had come at an important time, particularly because the hospital’s existing endoscopy machine is more than 10 years old.

He disclosed that KATH had been considering spending about GH¢800,000 to replace the ageing equipment, but the intervention would now allow management to channel those funds into other critical healthcare needs.

“This has really reduced my blood pressure because the monies we were going to spend on these essential items can now be channeled into other services to make sure we deliver premium services to Ghanaians we serve,” he said.

The KATH CEO also pointed to the construction of a cardiac intervention centre as another major intervention by the Ghana Medical Trust Fund.

According to him, despite KATH’s 70-year history, the hospital had never had such a facility, but support from the Trust Fund had brought the project within reach.

Reflecting on the Fund’s first year of interventions, Dr Baidoo said its impact had exceeded expectations.

“The interventions the Trust Fund is providing make us feel you have been in existence for 70 years because your impact within just a year feels like you have been here forever,” he said.

Administrator of the Ghana Medical Trust Fund, Adwoa Obuobia Darko-Opoku, said the donation formed part of activities marking the Fund’s first anniversary and reaffirmed its commitment to strengthening healthcare delivery.

“We have done a lot for Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital and we are ready to do more,” she said.

She explained that KATH was prioritised because of its urgent need for an endoscopy system and other essential consumables, while commending the hospital’s management and staff for their collaboration with the Trust Fund.

The Ghana Medical Trust Fund, popularly referred to as Mahama Cares, was established as a government-backed initiative to mobilise resources and support the treatment of critical and specialised medical conditions while strengthening healthcare infrastructure and equipment.

Its interventions at KATH have included support for specialised equipment and the development of a cardiac intervention centre, as the hospital seeks to expand access to advanced medical care.