By Bernice Bessey An Orthopedic and Complex Spine specialist, Dr. Oheneba Boachie-Adjei, says government and local philanthropies must show commandments toward the treatment of spine and its related bones diseases, as they are part of the leading causes of deaths in the country. Dr. Oheneba Boachie-Adjei, Founder and President of the Foundation of Orthopedics and […]
The post Orthopedic & Skeletal Care Need Support appeared first on The Chronicle - Ghana News.
By Bernice Bessey
An Orthopedic and Complex Spine specialist, Dr. Oheneba Boachie-Adjei, says government and local philanthropies must show commandments toward the treatment of spine and its related bones diseases, as they are part of the leading causes of deaths in the country.
Dr. Oheneba Boachie-Adjei, Founder and President of the Foundation of Orthopedics and Complex Spine (FOCOS), said though the average Ghanaian suffers from back, neck, and knee pains and other musculosketal conditions, yet they are unable to afford care.
In addition to lack of fund support for treatment, which is estimated at $10,000, there is also relatively low orthopedics and neurosurgeons in Ghana to serve a population of 26.5 million people.
Thus, he called on government to expand the National Health Insurance coverage to include orthopedic and skeletal care.
Dr. Oheneba Boachie-Adjei said FOCOS, a non-profitable organisation, was established to complement the limited specialists in the country with comprehensive orthopedic care to the underserved population throughout the West Africa sub-region.
Since cost of treatment is one of the major constrains deterring Ghanaians from assessing orthopedic specialists, he said the treatments are considerably reasonable at the facility when compared to same care abroad, which is pegged at almost $250 million.
He added that due to the interest health professionals attach to healthcare delivery, FOCOS receives not less than five thousand (5,000) patients a year across the globe.
Cases recorded over the period range from complex spin deformities, degenerative diseases of the spine and joints, to trauma and neurology cases.
He added that FOCOS stands out in orthopedic care, because its health facility has spacious modern structures with state-of-the-art medical equipment such as fluoroscopy, CT-scan, x-ray, blood Gas and Coagulation, Blood storage facility, cell saver and microplate washer and reader.
Other machines that help in delivery efficient healthcare are mindray chemistry and analyzers, mindray haematology analyzer, pulmonary function analyzer and spine cord monitoring.
The FOCO Orthopedic Hospital Founder indicated that the machines are of international standards to provide the same healthcare to patients in the country and across West Africa, just as it is given abroad.
Dr. Boachie-Adjei expressed concern about patients with complex conditions reporting late to health specialists, though he acknowledged the fact that some might have sought traditional healers and other forms of medications earlier.
As the National Health Insurance Scheme doesn’t cover orthopedic surgical services, he said: “A bundled payment system has been established for surgical treatment. A set of protocols and policies for perioperative care are utilised to optimise patient care and recovery, while reducing cost.”
As road accidents, domestic injuries and occupational hazards continue to expose Ghanaians to orthopedic aliments, he reiterated the need for government to expand the limited coverage of the NHIS to include orthopedic surgery, while the populace was urged to cultivate the culture of philanthropy.
He further suggested to the Ministry of Health and Ghana Health Service to screen children in order to identify deformities for early treatment.
The post Orthopedic & Skeletal Care Need Support appeared first on The Chronicle - Ghana News.
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