The University of Ghana Medical Centre (UGMC) has commemorated its fifth anniversary in a colourful ceremony, highlighting its special disposition as the centre of medical excellence in the West African sub-region.
In January 2017, during the facility’s commissioning, then-President John Dramani Mahama said establishing the UGMC with ultra-modern equipment would make the institution one of the best in Africa. Five years on, the centre is living up to the vision and forging on even stronger.
UGMC has earned the accolade ‘a beacon of medical excellence’ among experts in the medical management industry, and has chalked up several firsts in the delivery of quality healthcare in the sub-region during the very short time of its establishment.
The centre boasts the biggest medical training and simulation centre in West Africa, and a medical and scientific research centre that serves as a central hub for local and international research.
Chief Executive Officer of the UGMC, Dr. Darius Osei, speaking at an event to climax activities marking the 5th-anniversary celebrations in Accra said: “The journey from 2018 to 2023 has been one of transformation, growth and achievement. You will agree with me that each success story is a testament to the budding synergy between cutting-edge technology, training and research, as well as the expertise of our clinical and non-clinical staff and their determination to push the boundaries of medical science.”
The event was held with the theme ‘Five years of working toward the provision of world-class patient care, training and research’.
He outlined seven strategic areas of focus for the years ahead; namely clinical services, training, research, staff development, infrastructure, governance and leadership, and client experience.
Israeli Ambassador to Ghana, Liberia and Sierra Leone, Shlomit Sufa, in her remarks expressed excitement about the successes chalked up by the UGMC in just five years – as a project founded by the Israeli government in 2011.
She added that Israel is committed to the transformation of healthcare delivery in Ghana with investment in cutting-edge technology, just as is done in Israel. “As a state, we have embraced challenges as opportunities; and today Israel stands as a global leader in medical breakthroughs. From groundbreaking research to cutting-edge technologies, Israel’s success story in healthcare is a beacon of hope for countries all over the world, including Ghana”.
She urged management to strive to make the facility a preferred destination for not only healthcare and research, but also medical tourism in the sub-region.
In a goodwill message, some patients describe the facility as a strategic networking centre for high-level clientele. Others described staff of the physiotherapy clinic and psychology unit as gifted hands. “The attitude of staff has renewed our hope that Ghana can work again. 50 percent of the healing process is taken care of by outstanding care and hospitality of the staff,” a note read.
Other dignitaries present at the launch included the Vice Chancellor-University of Ghana, Prof. Nana Aba Appiah Amfo; Chairman of the occasion, Dr. Anarfi Asamoa-Baah; and deputy Minister of Health, Alhaji Mahama Asei Seini.
The deputy health minister promised to advocate for the sector minister to carry the message of impressive development at the UGMC to the Cabinet for more support from government.
How the beacon journey started?
UGMC commenced services with three OPD clinics in August 2018, and signed a commercial agreement to kick-start phase-two in June 2019 – a decision that triggered a lot of activities which allowed for incremental scaling of healthcare delivery services from 1st November 2019.
Fast forward, the centre began operationalisation of the cutting-edge Medical Training and Simulation Centre (MTSC -, one of the biggest training centres in Africa.
In 2020, the centre played a key role in managing the COVID-19 pandemic in the country. Designated as one of the national COVID-19 treatment centres, it successfully managed more than 700 individuals diagnosed with COVID-19 – including patients who required intensive care services as well as over 4,000 subscribers of its COVID-19 Connect online service.
In the same year, UGMC Medical and Scientific Research Centre (MSRC) opened to facilitate cutting-edge translational research that will discover new treatments, methods and procedures to improve the health status of Ghanaians.
The MSRC specialises in cardiovascular genetics, maternal foetal medicine, regenerative medicine, transplant medicine, infectious diseases, big data science, non-communicable diseases (NCD) and Clinical trials.
Notable achievements for the year 2021 included the receipt of a grant from the Bank of Ghana (BoG) to establish a molecular lab.
2022 was described as the year of collaboration-intensification. It entered into a partnership with UK-based South Tees NHF Foundation Trust to perform five high-risk open-heart surgeries in March 2022. These ground-breaking surgeries offered a new lease of life to patients who once faced daunting challenges.
In September of the same year, another collaboration – with the UK-based Arrhythmia Alliance Heart of Ghana Foundation – performed 16 complex open-heart surgeries. In July, it partnered with Brain Project Foundation, a US-based NGO, to perform complex brain and spinal surgeries that were also executed with precision and success, giving renewed hope to patients grappling with neurological conditions.
2023
In January 2023, UGMC partnered the Global Brain Initiative to perform eight complex surgeries that included the historic clipping of an aneurysm – the first of such surgeries in Ghana for the past 30 years.
In April 2023, the Centre once again collaborated with PharmAccess to launch the innovative NCD Care initiative, which is an innovative remote digital healthcare service to help patients manage their conditions from the comfort of their homes in partnership with medical officers.
Furthermore, it partnered Forte Medical and Nanox Vision from Israel to establish a new Radiology Learning Centre to train healthcare professionals from Ghana and across Africa on the use of innovative Nanox.ARC 3D multi-source system – which is a cross between the CT-scan and normal X-rays – and is more affordable compared to the CT scan, and is the only one in the sub-region.
UGMC stands tall in W/A
The Centre is live on the TrinetX, an international database that is accessible to all the major pharmaceutical companies in the world to access data for clinical trials. UGMC is the only medical centre in Africa on that platform.
Also, UGMC’s Nanox.ARC 3D multi-source system makes it the only facility in the sub-region with this service.
In May and July this year it performed paediatric catheterisations for 38 children, a breakthrough in minimally invasive paediatric catheterisations in the sub-region.
The UGMC’s MSRC is also about to establish the first-ever in-patient Clinical Trials Unit (CTU) in W/A, in collaboration with MDS-Lancet-Cerba and other partners and sponsors. These clinical trials will help ensure that medications brought to Ghanaians and West Africa are more suitable for the genetic makeup of indigenes, and also have fewer side-effects.
In 2022, the West African Health Awards Foundation honoured UGMC for being the Most Outstanding Medical Facility in Ghana during 2022.
