News
Physicians trained on principles of safe care for children
The participants
A three-day course which aims to provide physicians with refresher training in the essentials of paediatric and anaesthesia to deliver safe care to patients has taken off here.
The course emphasises the principles of safe care for children, in particular, assessment, vigilance and competence in essential skills.
About 40 physicians were selected from Ghana,The Gambia, Nigeria and Liberia.
It was organised by the World Federation of Societies of Anaesthetists(WFSA) in collaboration with Smile Train,world’s largest cleft foundation, Association of Anaesthetists of Great Britain and Ireland(AAGBI).
Dr. Adele Elizabeth King,Course Coordinator, in an interview, mentioned the importance of upholding International Standards for safe practices of anesthesia and paediatrics towards promoting patient safety.
According to the Consultant Paediatric Anaesthetist, the International Standards had been developed on behalf of WFSA, and adherence to that would go a long way to ensure proper management of even emergency cases.
She said the training aimed at equipping participants with the essential skills and knowledge to deliver safe care to their patients, even in low-resource settings.
The participants,she said, were expected to train their colleagues in their various countries to ensure best practices in conformity with international standards.
“We want to make this training or education sustainable to ensure that the local people are able to deliver to save the local population…it is all about safe care for children”, she said.
Mrs. Nkeiruka Obi, Vice President and Regional Director,A frica of Smile Train, noted that children’s cases were bit complicated and there was the need for adequate and special care for them.
She said the course was very important because the participants would be in a better position to provide safe care for children in their various countries.
She appealed to the participants to do everything possible to train their colleagues in their respective countries.
She mentioned that by six months time, the first ever Centre of Excellence for Surgery of children with cleft lip and palate would be ready for use.
The six-storey Centre, constructed at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) in Kumasi, would be the first of its kind in the whole of Africa to provide corrective surgery for children with cleft lip and palate.
From Kingsley E. Hope, Kumasi