The Ho Teaching Hospital has launched a 'Save a Heart, Save a Life' campaign geared towards raising $3.2million to expand and furnish its cardiothoracic centre. 

This is in the quest to make cardio service readily available to patients who occasionally had to travel to Accra to access treatment. 

The facility when completed would as well serve as a training center for students of the University of Health and Allied Sciences (UHAS). 

The Ho Teaching Hospital has been the first point of call for any major health condition in the Volta Region. 

One of such is cardiovascular conditions which the Hospital is ill-equipped to manage.

According to the hospital management, about 729 patients had visited the facility seeking treatment for various conditions between January and 18th June 2021. 

These patients were only treated at the outpatient department level. 

The Head of the Cardiothoracic Center, Prof Frank Edwin, explained the facility only provides consultation and diagnosis services at the center, but can't undertake operations due to limited resources. 

He added that that patient who needed to go under the knife were referred to the Korlebu Teaching Hospital. 

“Some of them refuse to go because they don't have money to take care of their travel expenses or do not have at any relative in Accra”, he said. 

Prof. Frank Edwin grieved that some of the patients in the course of their transfer lose their lives. 

Due to increasing demand for cardiovascular disease treatment, management of the facility saw the need to establish a cardiothoracic Center.

This underpinned an initiative to launch the “Save a Heart, Save a Life” project to raise $3.2 million towards equipping the center. 

The Acting Chief Executive Officer of the Ho Teaching Hospital, Dr. John Tampouri, said the project was initiated to bring an end to patients traveling to the national capital for cardio treatment. 

He also stated that the initiative is as well geared towards making the facility a health tourism destination. 

“It must be noted that a fully functional and well-resourced cardiovascular center positioned to holistically manage both lungs and heart disease will enable the hospital to offer world-class services and to it's numerous clients” he added.

The Vice-Chancellor of the University of Health and Allied Sciences, Prof. John Owusu Gyapong, who is a lead advocate for the establishment of the cardiothoracic center, underscored its urgent need to serve clients in and around the Volta Region. 

He gave an analogy of how Denish midfielder, Christian Eriksen’s life was saved after he had a cardiac arrest, during Denmark's Euro 2020 opener against Finland. 

He explained this was because the relevant logistics were readily available and employed to use when they were needed. 

“Imagine this had happened at the Ho Sports Stadium”, he quizzed. 

He, therefore, implored stakeholders to contribute towards the life-saving project to ensure the Ho Teaching Hospital is equipped with a well-furnished cardiothoracic center. 

The Hospital under the campaign is seeking $3.2 million to buy a heart-lung machine, ventilators, theatre equipment, equip the intensive care unit among other basic machinery to start with.