Tamale Teaching Hospital launches Paediatric Theatre

Tamale Teaching Hospital in collaboration with global health charities Smile Train and Kids Operating Room (KidsOR) is proud to announce the launch of the first-ever paediatric theatre, a significant milestone in improving healthcare for children in the Northern Region of Ghana. This new facility will provide state-of-the-art surgical care specifically tailored to meet the needs of paediatric patients.

The establishment of the paediatric theatre is a result of the dedication and commitment of the two charities together with the hospital to enhance healthcare services for children in the region. The hospital recognizes the unique medical requirements of paediatric patients and the necessity for a specialized facility that caters to their needs.

The paediatric theatre is equipped with cutting-edge technology and infrastructure to ensure the highest standards of care for children. The facility features advanced surgical instruments, modern anesthesia systems, and specialized paediatric medical equipment. The theatre also includes a recovery area specifically designed for young patients, ensuring a comfortable and safe environment during the postoperative period.

The CEO of Tamale Teaching Hospital, Dr Adam Atiku thanked the two charities and underscored the hospitals dedication towards enhancing public health. He welcomed the newly renovated paediatric theatre as a great support that will enhance and improve cleft and paediatric surgery within the Region.” This theatre will greatly improve the outcome of paediatric surgeries and help save lives” said Dr Adam Atiku.

Smile Train Senior Program Manager West Africa Victoria Awazie underscored her organization’s commitment to enhancing quality surgical care reaching the most underserved communities saying “Our highest priority in treating children is their safety. The theatre we have refurbished in partnership with KidsOR will ensure all children in need of safe, timely and quality surgery receive the highest standards of treatment.”Hospital since 2018.

KidsOR Africa Director, Rosemary Mugwe added, “The partnership and launch of the Operating Room underscores our commitment to meeting the unique healthcare needs of children. The opening of the new paediatric theatre is a significant milestone in our efforts to improve children surgery. Besides safe and timely surgery, we aim to create an environment that minimizes the anxiety and fear associated with surgery, for our children hence having colourful artwork in the paediatric surgical unit is key for us.”

Ghana like most Low- and Middle-Income Countries faces the problem of inequality in the distribution of resources and specialized health facilities which are mainly found in Accra and Kumasi. The burden of surgical disease is high within the pediatric population, accounting for 6–12 percent of paediatric admissions in sub-Saharan Africa with an overall mortality rate of 12 percent. Unmet pediatric surgical need is a significant contributor to death and disability.

Smile Train and KidsOR came together in 2020 to provide more than 30 paediatric operating rooms across countries in Africa by 2025. The charities have so far installed 18 life-transforming paediatric theatres in 10 countries, with a vision of treating more than 12,000 children over the next five years.

The long-term collaboration between Smile Train and Kids Operating Room has since 2020 continued to innovate and invest in strengthening surgical and anaesthesia care reaching the last mile patients in Africa. The Smile Train-KidsOR partnership is also supporting a pediatric surgery scholarship for the training and education of 45 paediatric surgeons across Africa in partnership with the West African College of Surgeons (WACS) and the College of Surgeons of East, Central and Southern Africa (COSECSA).

Further, to tackle the dual challenge of unsustainable power supply to theatres in Africa while reducing Greenhouse Gas emissions, Smile Train and KidsOR will begin implementing stand-alone solar battery support systems in paediatric operating rooms in Africa in 2023, with the first hospitals currently being identified.