Volume 1 No.3

urteODSDecember 1, 2005

~

behalf of the entire readership of College News I would like toffer my condolences to the families of Prof. J. M. K. Quartey,r. Isaac Bentsi and Dr. Benjamin Osei Wiafe, all of the

Urology Department of Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, who died tragically ina road traffic accident on Saturday rr August 2005. Prof. Quartey and Dr.Bentsi were Foundation Fellows of this College. May their souls rest inperfect peace. They were returning from an outreach programme at theSunyani General Hospital when the accident occurred. They will not beforgotten. A fitting tribute, amongst several others, was paid to thememory of these doctors by no less a person than the President of theRepublic of Ghana, Mr. J. A. K. Kufuor, who is also a Foundation Fellow ofthe College.

The College has successfully conducted its first professionalexaminations for the Part 1 of the Membership and Diploma of the variousspecialties. The detailed results are published in this issue of CollegeNews. The College has, without doubt, benefited from the experience ofmany Foundation Fellows who are also Fellows of the West AfricanCollege of Physicians and Surgeons and have conducted similarexaminations for many years. The successful candidates deservecongratulations from all the Faculties of the College.

A website for the College has been created. It is going through the fine-tuning processes necessary for a successful launch. In local parlance itcan be stated that the website has not yet been "out-doored". It isexpected that when the website becomes operational manycommunications of the College will be done electronically. College Newswill have an electronic version as well. Virtually all notices from theCollege will be posted at the website. The Editorial Board of the Collegewill welcome contributions from Fellows of the College who have specialknowledge in website management and would like to become membersof its sub-committee that deals with matters relating to the CollegeWebsite.

Prof. Alexander Bruce- Tagoe,Editor

Biostatistics and Research

MethodologyA five-day course wasorganised from the16th to zo" May 2005 on Biostatisticsand ResearchMethodology at the Schoolof Public Health. Legon.

The course. which attracted thirteen (13)health professionals. aimed to provideuseful training for critical assessmentofmedical articles and literature. Some ofthe topics covered included Introductionto Internet research; Introduction toSTATA statistical software; Descriptivestatistics; Analysis of contingency tables;Design of experiments; Correlation andstraight line regression.

It wasfacilitated by Dr. Ornar BenAhmadof the School of Public Health. Legon.

acute renal failure; Treatment of chronic renal failure; Urological intervention innephrology; Endocrine function of the kidney; Diabetes. Hypertension and renalfailure; Imaging and interventional nephrology: and Drug usein renal failure.

Fifty-three (53) participants attended the programme which was partly sponsoredby Astra Zeneca and Roche.

The facilitators were Profs K. K. Adjepon-Yamoah. R. K. Affram. G. O. Klufio. M.O. Mate-Kole. E.Wiredu and Drs Brakohiapa, Eghan. F.Ofei and I. Plange-Rhule.

Quality Assurance in Laboratorv Medicine- j

The Faculty of Laboratory Medicine held a one-day workshop on "QualityAssurance in Laboratory Medicine" on Friday. 29th [uly 2005 at the CollegeSecretariat. Lectures were delivered on Laboratory errors and the clinicaldiagnosis; Standardization in laboratory work; Referencematerials and referencemethods; Standard setting in Haematology; Parameters in ouality control;Automation and computerisation; Quality policy of a Laboratory; Interpretation oflaboratory results. among others.

It was facilitated by Profs. I. K. Acouaye. G. Ankra-Badu. A. A. Bruce-Tagoeand T.D. Osafo. all Fellows of the Faculty of Laboratory Medicine. Fourteen medicalpractitioners attended the programme.

Revision Course For Part I MembershipThe revision course for Part I of the Membership of the Ghana College ofPhysiciansand Surgeons was held from Monday 15t to Saturdayzo" August 2005at the University of Ghana Medical School Auditorium. The revision covered areasin Anatomy. Biochemistry. Chemical Pathology. Clinical Pharmacology.Haematology. Microbiology and Pathology.

FELLOWS OUTSIDE LEND A HANDprof. K. Anyane-Yeboaand Dr.Anthony Annan. Fellows of the College who were visiting Ghana used the revisionplatform to deliver two lectures. Prof. K. Anyane-Yeboah.anAssociate Professor ofClinical Genetics in the Paediatrics Department of Columbia University New York.and Director Division of Clinical Genetics at the NewYork Presbyterian Hospital. delivered two lectures on "Role of chromosomes in

human disease" and "Patterns of genetic inheritance traditional and nontraditional". Dr Anthony Annan. who practices Musculoskeletal Medicine and isfounder and Medical Director of LlPH Sportsmedicine Ltd in the U.K.. alsodelivered a lecture on "Sports Medicine."

COLLEGE'S FIRST EXAMS FOR RESIDENTSThe Ghana College of Physicians and Surgeons has held its first examinations. The Part I Membership and Diplomaexaminations were held from 29th September to I" October 2005. Out of the 53 residents who registered. 52 presentedthemselves. In all. 41 candidates passedthe examinations. The distribution among the faculties was:

FACULTY CANDIDATES PASSED TOTALMEMBERSHIP DIPLOMA MEMBERSHIP DIPLOMA

Child Health 3 6 2 6 8Dental Surgery 4 - 4 - 4Internal Medicine 1 - 1 - 1Laboratory Medicine 4 - 3 - 3Obstetrics & Gynaecology 13 3 9 3 12Psychiatry 1 - I - 1Radiology/Radiotherapy 10 - 9 - 9Surgery 7 - 3 - 3TOTAL 43 9 32 9 41

2 COLLEGE NEWS vol.l NO.3. December.200S

Update course in NephrologyThe College. in collaboration with theWest African College of Physicians.organised a seminar on the theme"Update course in Nephrology". Thethree-day programme for postgraduateResidents and doctors in the healthsector washeld at the College Secretariatfrom s" to s" lune 2005. Among thetopics discussed were Pathology andclassification of glomerulonephritis;Clinical approach & management of GN(N ep h ri tic Synd ro me, Ra pid IyProgressive GN); Acute renal failure;Chronic renal failure; Treatment of

200S RESIDENCY PROGRAMMEThe second batch of Residents was enrolled into the postgraduate programme on 3rd October. 2005 at Korle Bu and KomfoAnokye Teaching Hospitals. The table below shows the distribution of new residents among the various Facultiesand the twoleading teaching hospitals in the country.

FACULTY KORLE KOMFO OTHERS TOTALBU ANOKYE

Anaesthesia 3 - - 3Child Health - 11 - 11Dental Surgery 5 - - 5ENT 2 3 - 5Family Medicine 4 1 - 5Internal Medicine 3 6 - 9Laboratorv Medicine 4 - - 4Obstetrics & 8 3 - 11GynaecologyPlastic Surgery 1 - - 1Psychiatry - 1 1 (Accra Psychiatric 2

Hospital)Radiology 1 - - 1General Surgery 2 1 - 3Diploma in Child I - - 1HealthDiploma in 1 - - IOphthalmologyTOTAL 35 26 1 62

THE GHANA PHYSICIANS ANDSURGEONS FOUNDATION (U.S.A.): ANNUAL MEETINGThe Ghana Physicians and Surgeons Foundation is a professional body ofGhanaian medical practitioners based in the United States of America andCanada whose goals are to support and foster specialty training in Ghanaunder the aegis of the Ghana College of Physicians and Surgeons. TheFoundation held its third Annual Conference from l7'h - 19thIune. 2005 on thetheme "Residency Training in Ghana A Strategic Working Partnership." TheRector. Professor P. K. Nyame. was at the meeting at the invitation of theFoundation and spoke on "The Status of Residency Training in Ghana."Professor Nyame stressed during meetings with the Ghanaian physicians thathis interest was not in the collection of funds. The focus was on contributionsto the development of postgraduate training. especially through visitinglectureships and placement for Ghanaiansin American training institutions.

The Foundation wasfounded at the instance of the Rector and some Ghanaianphysicians in the U.S.A.. in particular Drs. Oheneba Boachie-Adjei. AlexTwum-Boafo. Edward Anim-Addo and Clement Osei. The then Ghana'sActing Ambassador launched it at the Ghana Embassyin Washington in May2003.

COLLEGE NEWS VaLl NO.3. December.2005

FELLOWS OF THEAMERICAN COLLEGE OFPHYSICIANSProfessor Samuel Ofosu-Arnaah and ProfessorPaul Nyame. President and Rector respectivelyof the Ghana College of Physicians andSurgeons. were invited by the American Collegeor Physicians (ACP) to their 2005 AnnualConference held at San Francisco. Theinvitation. which came out of the initiative of theGhana Physicians and Surgeons Foundation.wasto explore a formal linkagewith the ACP andsolicit support for the postgraduate medicalprogramme in Ghana. ProfessorsOfosu-Amaahand Nyame were elected Fellows of theAmerican College.

The Ghana College of Physiciansand Surgeonsand the entire readership of College Newscongratulates them on their election to theFellowshipof the American College.

3

I

RECTOR VISITS THE ROYAL COLLEGESThe Rector. Professor Paul Nyame. on his way fromthe United States of America after participating in theannual meetings of the Ghana Physicians andSurgeons Foundation and American College ofPhysicians. passed through London and helddiscussions with officials of the Royal College ofPhysicians of London and the Royal College ofSurgeons of England. Discussions with ProfessorRoger Williams. Director of the International Officeof the Royal College of Physicians centred onexposure and further training of doctors. who passthrough the Ghana postgraduate trainingprogramme. in subspecialties. The Rector called onProfessor Dame Carol Black. President of the RoyalCollege of Physicians. At the Royal College ofSurgeons of England he visited the Skills Laboratoryand had discussions over lunch with Mr. BernardRibeiro. President of the College.

Prof Paul Nyame in a pose with Prof Roger Williams

MEETING ON EQUIVALENCIES, STANDARDIZATION AND RECOGNITION OFSPECIALIST MEDICAL DIPLOMASThe Directorate General of the West African Health Organisation (WAHO). the Health Agency of ECOWAS. hasorganised asub-regional meeting on "EQuivalencies.Standardization and Recognition of Specialist Medical Diplomas in the ECOWASsub-region." The meeting concentrated attention on three issues:namely:

EXistingsituation of medical specialists in the sub-region and the roles of all sections involved in their training.employment and regulation.Constraints and difficulties in the standardization of training. eouivalencies and reciprocal recognition of specialistsdiplomasProposalsfor achieving the desired goals.

The meeting took place from 6th- 8th !u!y. 2005 at Ouagadougou. Burkina Faso.The Rector of the College wasone of the invited

participants.

STRENGTHENING THE ROLE OF COLLEGES OF MEDICINE IN THEPRODUCTION OF HEALTH WORKERS IN THE W.H.O. AFRICAN REGION.The WHO African Region has organised a consultative meeting on strengthening the role of Colleges of Medicine in theproduction of health workers. The Rector of the College. who is also the Chairman of the Medical and Dental Council.attended the meeting held from 27'h_ so" September. 2005 in Brazzaville. Congo. Human resource provision in the healthsector has been identified as a major constraint in the achievement of the global policy of Health for All (HFA) in the 2 r'century and the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals. The meeting offered a platform for critical thinking onappropriate ways of formulating policies and institutional engagement of Colleges of Medicine in the production andimplementation of national health policies.

4 COLLEGENEWS VaLl No.3. December,2005 "

THE FUTURE OF FOODThe President of the Ghana College ofPhysicians and Surgeons. Prof SamuelOfosu-Amaah. has called for morescientific work into genetical~ modifiedfoods to help policy makersfashion out asuitable bio-safety law. He made the callat a forum organized by the College ongenetical~ modified foods where a filmentitled "The Future of Food" wasscreened.

He observed that the content of ourchanging diet. particularly since WorldWar II. has increased the incidence ofdiseases such as hypertension anddiabetes. He explained that there havebeen several food revolutions in thiscountry. particularly with the

introduction of foods from the New Worldby the Portuguese from the 16'hCentury-foods such as maize. cassava. tomatoes.avocados. peppers etc.. and by theEuropean introduction of foods such as pigfeet. beef etc.. preserved in barrels ofbrine; and then in the early zo" Centurywith the importation of canned or tinfoods. All these imports. he noted. havegreat~ affected our dietary habits.

Prof Ofosu-Amaah said we are nowentering the new revolution of genetical~modified foods which has the potential ofchanging man's food as radically as whenman stopped being a hunter-gatherer andtook to farming 10.000 years ago. Heobserved that the" diet of our forefathers.

2ND ANNUAL GENERAL AND SCIENTIFIC MEETINGThis is scheduled to come on at theAccra International ConferenceCentre on z" - s" December. 2005on the theme "A Critical Look at theHealth System of Ghana." The'programme includes Scientific Sessions.Divisional Meetings. Election of Vice-Presidents. Vice Rector. CouncilMembers and Faculty Officers.Professor F. T. Sai, Adviser to thePresident of Ghana on HIV/AIDS andReproductive Health. will deliver theCollege Lecture. Professor Sai's topic isthe sameasthe theme for the meeting.

Professor lean-Pierre Allain. Professorof Transfusion Medicine. theDepartment of Haematology. University

who were eating varieties of fresh food".was better than what was pertaining nowbecause it had been adapted biologicallyfrom man's living conditions. He thereforeurged policy makersto tread cautiously intheir efforts to introduce genetical~modified foods into the country. He saidin some countries the labelling ofgenetically modified foods wasmandatory. so that people have a choice.Such labelling is not mandatory in theUSA

Prof Ofosu-Amaah called on Ghanaiansto contribute effectively all they knewabout genetical~ modified crops toenable the country to fashion out a bio-safety law that was appropriate withrespect to improving our health.

of Cambridge. will speak on "What is so special about viruses in Ghana." ProfessorAllain hasbeen associatedwith the Komfo Anokye TeachingHospital (KATH) over thepast ten years during which he has collaborated with the hospital management toensure blood safety His initial work involved identitying HIV variants and determiningthe molecular epidemiology of HIV in blood donors and patients in Kumasi.During asix-month sabbatical in the Department of Medicine (1999-2000) he took keeninterest in the KATH Blood Bank. He introduced a new strategy for blood screeningand safety consisting of pre-donation testing of all donors with rapid tests of highperformance. For the first time donor screening for anti-HCV (Hepatitis C) wascarriedout and this is now implemented nationwide.

In February 2005. ProfessorAllain introduced pre-donation screened-negative units.a triplex nucleic acid testing of donations in pools of 10 for HIV, HCV and HBVgenomes. This has tremendously increased the safety of blood. Molecular studies ofHCV, HBV and now parvovirus B 19 and several flaviviruses are ongOing and providethe first comprehensive characterization of local viruses. He haspublished 19 papers.between 1998 and 2005. with a range of collaborators from the Departments ofBiochemistry. Medicine. Microbiology. Obstetrics & Gynaecology and PaediatricsofKomfoAnokye TeachingHospital.

FELLOWSHONOURED

Dr. A A AkiwumiDr. E. Evans-Anfom

The Medical and Dental Council this April presented Lifetime Achievement Awards to honour senior Medical and Dentalpractitioners who had distinguished themselvesin the provision of healthcare in Ghana.

The awards honour Medical and Dental practitioners who have demonstrated by their example and conduct an abidingcommitment to excellence in medical care. education and research. and who provided service to their communities.

The following Fellows received awards:Prof. S. R. A Dodu Prof. K. A,OduroProf. I. K. M. Quartey Prof. F. T. SaiDr. M. E. K-. difo

Dr. M. A BarnorDr. L. R. Roberts

'COLLEGE NEr

..VoL-I No.3· December,20,,-

ELECTIONS 2005Elections to the various offices of the College are due in December 2005 during theAnnual General and Scientific Meeting. The current officers of the Faculties are:

AnaesthesiaChairman: Prof. Y. Adu-Gyamfi

Secretary: Dr. E. Aniteye

Family Practice

Chairman: Dr. D. Martey-MarbellSecretary: Dr. M. Ablorh Odjid]a

Child HealthChairman: Prof. S. Annobil

Secretary: Dr. I. Mate-Kole

Internal MedicineChairman: Prof. S. K. Owusu

Secretary: Dr. Francis Ofei

Dental SurgeryChairman: Prof. N. O. NarteySecretary: Dr. E. A. Nyarko

Laboratory MedicineChairman: Prof. T. D. Osafo

Secretary: Dr. I\y Ekem

Obstetrics &Gyr.a ologyChairman: Dr. I r, Wilson

Secretary: Dr. K. Nkyekyer

Radiology & Radiation OncologyChairman: Dr. A. A. Yeboah

Secretary: Dr. loel Varney

b~ iatryChar. In: Prof. Atta lohnson

Secretary: Dr. Victor Doku

SurgeryChairman: Prof. E. A Badoe

Secretary: Prof. Rudolf Darko

Public HealthChairman: Dr. F. K. Wurapa

Secretary: Dr. Irene Adjepong

ROAD TRAFFIC ACCIDENTSThe College. on Thursday 24th November 2005. organized a symposium on Road Traffic Accidents at the CollegeSecretariat.

In a presentation read on his behalf by the Deputy Minister of Road Transport. Mr Magnus Opare-Asarnoah. theMinister of Road Transport, Dr. Richard Anane, stated that the ministry had developed a five-year National RoadSafety Strategy (NRSS) and Action Plan for the period 2001-2005, with the aim of breaking the trend in road traffic

accidents within the planned period and creating a basis for concrete. sustainable accident reduction towards 20 I O.He identified the main collaborators for the road safety effort as the National Road Safety Commission (NRSC), the

Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA). the Road Agencies. the Motor Traffic and Transport Unit (MTTU) ofthe Ghana Police Service and the Ministry of Health.

Mr Magnus Opare-Asarnoah announced that forty locations have been identified by road transport agencies as themost dangerous on Ghanaian roads in a study carried out to take pre-emptive actions as a basis for safety on the road.The study mentioned Asiakwa and Potroase on the Accra-Kumasi road, Asikuma lunction on the Atimpoku-Ho road

and Nobewarn on the Accra-Konongo road as some of the most dangerous. He lamented that 60 per cent of road

accident deaths in the country involved people aged between 18 and 55 years. which he described as "the mostproductive segment of the population". He observed that the loss of these lives negatively impact on our developmentagenda.

6 COLLEGE NEWS VoL I No, 3 • December.200S

Speakers at the symposium pointed out that majority of the road accident fatalities involved pedestrians, with children

accounting for 23 per cent of deaths. Measures taken as part of the five-year National Road Safety Strategy to reduce themenace included contribution to the enforcement drive by the MTTU through the provision of logistics, the replacement of

the old Road Traffic Ordinance of I 952 by Act 683 of 2004 and the strengthening of the OVLA.

The President of the College, Professor Samuel Ofosu-Amaah, said reports from the United Nations (UN) indicated that

global~, road traffic accidents came ninth among all causes of death and if nothing was done about it, would rise to the thirdposition by the year 2020. He called for concerted efforts among all stakeholders to save mankind from such painful losses.

The facilitators of the symposium and the theme of their presentations, respectively were Mr. F.Afukaar (Building and RoadResearch Institute) on "An overview of road accidents in Ghana", Dr. Godfried Asiamah (police Hospital) on "Epidemiologyof road traffic accidents in Ghana", Mr. Noble Appiah (NRSC) on "The NRSC's role in preventing road traffic accidents", Mr.

[oe Osei-Wusu (OVLA) on "How OVLA protects the public from road traffic accidents", Mr. Ekow Wilson-Asaam

(TransConsult Ltd.) on "Tyres and our lives", Chief Supt. Victor Tandoh (MTTU) on "Road traffic accidents: What laws getbroken?", Mr. Robert Sarbah (GPRTU) on "The drivers' point of view on the causes of road traffic accidents", Dr. EmmanuelOsei (Korle Bu Teaching Hospital. KBTH) on "Road traffic accidents Morbidity and mortality at KBTH" and Dr. Yao Tettey

(KBTH) on "The end of the road As seen by the pathologist".

CONGRATULATIONSThe Editorial Board of College News congratulates:

Profs. S. B. Naaerder, Department of Surgery, E. Y. Kwawukume, Department of Obstetricsand Gynaecology, on their promotion as full Professors in the University of Ghana Medical School (UGMS).Profs, lennifer E. Welbeck, Head of Department of Paediatrics, Rudolph Darke. Department of Surgery.on their promotion asAssociate Professors in the UGMS.Prof. E. D. Yeboah on his election as President of the West African College of Physicians.Dr. EAdu-Ababio on his election as President of the Ghana Medical AssociationProf. I. K. Acouaye, immediate past President of the West African College of Physicians, fc onding aSuccessful term of2 years in November 2004.

EDITORIAL BOARDProf. P.K. NyameProf. A. A. Bruce-TagoeProf. G. Wireko BrobbyProf. G. Ankra-BaduProf. I. W. AcheampongProf. E. Q. Archampong

Prof C. A. KlufioDr. Rudolf OarkoDr. Victor OokuDr. lennifer WelbeckDr. A.K. BadohuMr. O.B. Addo

COLLEGE I\EWS VaLl NO.3. December,lOO) 7

• r ••..

The permanent College Secretariat under construction at Ridge

STUDIO-7 -KAT CO. LTDTEL: 021-243603/221407