The Foundation for Special Surgery has initiated processes for the construction of a 2 level ultra-modern surgical hospital in Accra which is expected to be completed by the second quarter of 2022.
The 40-bed capacity facility when completed will be named West Africa Institute of Special Surgery (WAISS) and it seeks to provide highly specialized surgical care to Ghanaians and West Africa at large.
Speaking at the ground-breaking ceremony on Wednesday, Founder of the Foundation for Special Surgery, Dr. Kofi Boahene, said the facility will provide people with access to quality and affordable surgical care without having to travel miles.
“In Africa, we don’t have the expert doctors. We have good doctors but when it comes to certain sophisticated care, we don’t have specialists, and we don’t have the facilities to do those things. So when people get sick, or they need some specialized care, those who can, travel to South Africa, India to get health care but not everybody can get on a plane to seek for health care. There’s nothing better than being taken care of right at home. Instead of taking care of people out there we want to bring it home,” he said.
International Development Consultant, Anthony Boateng who doubles as a partner to the project, emphasized the impact the facility will have on livelihoods and the economy of Ghana.
“Mostly, I look at the economic benefit because if you’re taking care of a patient most often at times they come with their family members and this is specialized surgery, so you would have people coming from all walks of life and the sub-region. And usually you have high net-worth individuals coming, so they come in, and they have their family members coming with them and going around, doing a bit of tourism, leaving some footprints in terms of their dollars to help the economy. So I think it’s not just saving lives, it has the livelihood aspect, creating jobs and other things and that is where you get the sustainability element in the project,” he explained.
Facial plastic surgeon in Germany who is also a member of the foundation, Dr Holger Gassner, called for more support to ensure the success of the project.
“It is really well deserved to thank those who have made big commitments….they have all contributed 5 or 6 digit figures to jump start this project. And maybe if I can also utilize this as a message home to ask those willing and able to consider contributing as well, to do so. This is a very worthwhile project, I think every euro and every dollar is really getting to the course, and we’re very grateful for continued support, and we’ll need it,” he urged.
About WAISS
The 87,000-square-foot state-of-the-art surgical facility will be located adjacent to the established FOCOS orthopaedic hospital in Accra.
The first module will have 40 private and semi-private patient rooms, a surgical suite with an ICU and 4 operating rooms, 10 outpatient consultation rooms, an educational conference room and supportive offices.
Surgical subspecialties to be initially covered will include microvascular surgery, craniofacial surgery, neurologic and endoscopic skull base surgery, facial aesthetic and reconstructive medicine, sleep surgery, head and neck oncologic surgery and robotic-assisted urologic surgery.
