Nyaho Medical Centre, a leading private healthcare facility in Ghana, has commenced the roll-out of a Family Medicine Training Programme.

The programme trains medical doctors in the specialised field of family medicine.

Announcing the launch of the preceptorship programme at a media briefing in Accra, Program Coordinator of the health centre, Dr Osa Olayemi, indicated that Nyaho Medical Centre now joins other public hospitals in Ghana – Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital and Tetteh Quarshie Memorial Hospital – in the training of family physicians.

Nyaho Medical Centre, a trusted brand with over 48 years experience in providing quality patient-centered care, birthed the idea of training family physicians in 2016, as part of its strategy to develop resources and build capacity in delivering holistic care to patients.

This forms a public-private partnership to increase the number of family physicians available in Ghana to the general public.

The programme officially started in September 2017 with the Ghana College of Physicians posting its first resident doctor.

Currently, four residents are in the three-year training programme in Nyaho Medical Centre and the hospital expects to add on to this number in subsequent academic years.

Family Physicians-in-Training at Nyaho Medical Centre have a head start in their programme as the hospital’s 24-hour operations provide a conducive training environment with the existing Family Practice Clinic.

The foundation of Family Practice is an ongoing, personal patient-physician relationship focused on integrated care. Thus Family Physicians are trained to guide and coordinate all aspects of patients’ care while working collaboratively with patients to achieve the best possible outcome.

To enrol as a Family Physician-in-Training, medical doctors are expected to write a primary examination conducted by the Ghana College of Physicians and Surgeons, pass a Selection Interview and then receive posting by the College to Nyaho Medical Centre which is an accredited facility.

The Managing Director of Nyaho Medical Centre, Dr Elikem Tamaklo, believes this initiative will benefit patients immensely, “The ultimate objective of accessing a Family Doctor is having quality and coordinated care for patients regardless of age, gender or race.”

For the patient, this means having a personal and more trusted relationship with a Doctor that goes beyond transactional health delivery to achieve improved patient outcomes.

Nyaho Medical Centre maintains a cordial and mutually beneficial relationship with health-affiliated organizations across sectors.

One significant area where this has worked well is the annual Dr. K. N. Tamaklo Medical Symposium which brings together key stakeholders from both private and public sectors of Ghana’s health industry to share learnings on best practice quality of care, to ultimately improve equity in service delivery.

The rollout of Nyaho Medical Centre’s Family Medicine Training Programme offers Doctors who are willing to specialize in this area, an additional option of where to receive postgraduate training.

This is the hospital’s contribution to increasing the number of Family Physicians in Ghana which is currently inadequate.

Training at Nyaho Medical Centre offers:

- A library with e-resources like HINARI Access to Research in Health Programme 

- Allowances for residents

- Avenues for exchange programs

- An opportunity to learn in an integrated facility with many specialists’ inputs for coordinated care.