Tamale

Dr. Abbas Adam recently took up his position at the Tamale Teaching Hospital equipped with some valuable state-of-the-art devices. Thanks to the support of businesses and the support of the Freiburg University Clinic, the neurosurgeon, who acquired an outstanding education in Minsk, Russia and Freiburg, Germany, returned to his home town of Tamale.

Dr. Abbas Adam recently took up his position at the Tamale Teaching Hospital equipped with some valuable state-of-the-art devices. Thanks to the support of businesses and the support of the Freiburg University Clinic, the neurosurgeon, who acquired an outstanding education in Minsk, Russia and Freiburg, Germany, returned to his home town of Tamale with medical equipment worth approximately 800,000 Ghanaian cedi. Now, he must hope for the support of the responsible government authorities, who will have to invest about 400,000 Ghanaian cedi of their own for a CT scanner and MRI before the ceiling microscope and navigation device can be used to make the new neurosurgical ward entirely functional.

In view of the very justified and habitually repeated complaints about the extraordinarily skimpy provision of healthcare in the Northern Region, Dr. Abbas Adam’s return to Tamale is greeted as a particularly happy occasion here. While one often hears in the media that physicians only go to the north reluctantly to carry out their profession and that in some cases appointments to hospitals in the Northern Region are even considered a kind of “penalty,” Abbas Adam always knew that he would return to his hometown of Tamale one day. It was here that he recognized how very desolate the gap in the medical services was and now he hopes to bridge it. Serious head injuries in particular, for example caused by accidents and resulting in internal cranial bleeding still cannot be surgically treated in Tamale. “Every week I see people perish here who I could have saved if only we could have operated quickly and effectively,” says Dr. Abbas Adam.

The up to date ward, which has been put together piece for piece over the last few months, will mean almost unimaginable progress for the quality of medical care in the entire region. Not only will serious head injuries and spinal problems be treatable surgically in future thanks to the modern technology, but thanks to Dr. Abbas Adam’s expertise and the devices he has brought with him, even minimally invasive operations can be carried out. Dr. Abbas brings not only highly sophisticated engineering with him to the brand new neurosurgery operating room; his specialist training at the university in Freiburg also allows him to use this technology and his specially learnt “manual” skills to treat patients with only tiny, precise incisions. Although the surgical procedures are more complex, they are far less a strain on the patients.

A neurosurgical ward with the capability for minimally invasive treatments would not only be an unexpected and welcome innovation for Tamale, but it is a new method for all of Ghana. Even in Germany, it is not used in every major hospital. For the time being, however, Dr. Abbas Adam has not reached the goal. Without a CT scanner and MRI, the whole unit of expensive devices makes little sense. The Municipal Assembly and the Ministry of Health at least are highly interested, reports Dr. Abbas, even the funding for the additional devices appears to have been long clarified. At present, however, the extension works for the OP and the ward are making Dr. Abbas and his team optimistic. “It is moving ahead,” declares the 44-year-old neurosurgeon, “and we are getting closer and closer to our goal.” This could save the lives of many ill and injured people who urgently need cranial surgery.