Kwahu Government Hospital
PERSONAL DETAILS
| Name | Saniya Kazi
Colette Dignam |
ELECTIVE DETAILS
| Country | Ghana | City | Atibie |
| Setting | Rural district hospital on the top of a jungly mountain | ||
| Local languages spoken | Twi, some speak English | ||
| Dates of elective | December 2007 – January 2008
26/12/10-28/1/11 |
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| Year level during elective | 5 | Expected level of knowledge | Clinical
They take third year students too, but they do a different program |
DETAILS OF INSTITUTION
| Name | Kwahu Government Hospital | Population served | 200,000 |
| Size | 200 beds, 4 doctors | ||
| Departments/specialties available | The hospital has a bit of everything: maternity ward, children’s ward, women’s ward, male ward, and a theatre for general surgery, laboratory.
O&G, Paeds, Surg |
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| Further description | It is not as big, and does not have the facilities a teaching hospital would, but it is not as busy/lacking in facilities/understaffed as most rural hospitals. So it’s somewhere in between. Hands on experience can be limited, but if you’re keen, you get to do much more. Common conditions you will encounter are malaria, diabetes, meningitis, malaria, sickle cell. | ||
| Student responsibilities | The doctors are flexible and will allow you to participate in as much or little as you like in ward rounds, outpatient clinics and emergency. You can stand back and observe rounds, or run a clinic – first with supervision¸ but eventually on your own.
Ward rounds with the doctors in the mornings followed by oupatients. Going to casualty in the afternoons where you would see patients alone with a translator. We could admit patients from casualty and also order the tests they needed. There was also a Theatre list every Wednesday (normally hernias, tubal ligations, C-sections and appendixes). The extra things you could do included watching (and doing) births, going to the lab to learn about malaria tests. The doctors are very aware that we Westerners are scared of HIV and as such, we were not required to do any cannulation or blood taking. In the outreach clinics, we were responsible for seeing patients, deciding on treatments and prescribing the meds. We also spent some time doing school visits, where we did skin checks on the kids. One day was spent in a tiny village weighing all the babies and giving them their 6 month jabs, which was enormous fun. On the whole, the placement was less hands on than we expected, but this was actually reassuring as it proved the hospital to be generally well staffed and well run. The doctors were so very competent and up to date with their knowledge despite the basic facilities. |
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| Teaching availability | Variable – some doctors are great (Dr Addai, Dr Frempong), others not as enthusiastic.
Dr Addai (our clinical supervisor) was very open to answering questions about patient care. There was no formal teaching for students. In many ways, we were treated as foreign colleagues rather than students- it was just as common for the doctors to ask us questions about treatment choices or disease frequencies in Australia, and thus treat us as a learning source. |
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| Elective contact | Eric Sefa Boateng: boatsefa09@hotmail.com. He is more than happy to organize any elective in Ghana.
Eric Sefa Boateng- an absolute legend and so incredibly helpful |
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| Application process | Letters to hospital, curriculum vitae, photo – but made simple as Eric will e-mail you all the details including templates of letters. Write to Sefa for more info. He emails out forms for you to fill out. For 4 weeks, we paid Sefa US$150 to organise everything, and then an extra US$100 to register at the hospital. (Details Below) Dr. Addai is in charge of elective students visiting Kwahu and Sefa coordinate students to the hospital. |
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| Donations brought/grants | We didn’t but there is certainly scope for it. I would suggest you write to the hospital and see what they need. For instance while we were there they had loads of antibiotics due to a drug company donation, but dipsticks were incredibly rare. | ||
TRAVEL, ACCOMMODATION, FOOD, LEISURE AND EXPECTED COSTS
| Accommodation options | Doctors’ bungalow, 2 minute walk from hospital
Student House provided within walking distance of hospital |
AUD$150 for the duration of the elective
Approx $50 a week for the house |
| Accommodation details | 3 bedroom bungalow – perfect for the stay, and lots of fun when you have a good bunch of people. The only drawback was the lack of running water – but it was an experience! This may have changed now anyway.
A 4 bedroom 3 bathroom house which can sleep up to 8 people but would feel crowded with more than 6. There were 4 of us at the time. The house has running water (most of the time), electricity, a 24 hour security guard and is fully screened from mozzies. There are basic facilities to cook (fridge, microwave, gas stove, kettle) as well as a TV and DVD player. If you had a laptop, it is possible to get (incredibly slow) wireless access at the house. |
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| Travel to location (including necessary documentation) | It is about 2.5-5 hours from the capital city, Accra. It is a fantastic location, as you can experience rural Ghana on weekdays, and travel around the capital city/ tourist locations on weekends. There are many options for transport – from squishy/hot tro-tro’s, to more expensive coaches. Eric Sefa will offer to drive you there when you arrive (which is good when u have luggage and don’t know the place) – he will discuss charges for this when planning your elective. Ghana tourist visa required |
AUD$3-15 AUD$140 (visa costs) |
| Transport within location | Taxi’s (shared with randoms) are cheap and accessible, but it is easy to walk to the ‘shops’ (takes 15 minutes).
Walking round town was easy. We could catch share taxis to the bigger town Nkawkaw if we wanted to visit the big food market. Nkawkaw also had a bus/minivan station with connections to all other major cities in Ghana for weekend travel. |
AUD$5/week
$1 for a 15 minute taxi ride $2-8 for intercity buses |
| Food allowances | The hospital provides meals for $2 a meal. They are variable in taste – they can be delicious, but sometimes are inedible! Local produce is cheap! However, in the village, you are limited to about 5 different varieties of food – things you take for granted may not be available. So stock up before you get there if you’re fussy!
Felicia the hospital cook will provide lunches or dinners for 3cedi a meal ($2). She is a darling. We self catered dinners and breakfasts as you get a bit sick of yams and plantain after some weeks! Eating in a restaurant would be $5-10. Street meals would cost $1-3. Yummy frozen yoghurts were 40c. Drinking water is bought in 500mL sachets: 20 sachets= 70cents. |
AUD$40/week
Less than $50 weekly. Slighly more if you go out to restaurants often. |
| Social activities | In Atibie, there’s a ‘pub,’ and locals are very friendly and love to dance! During my visit, there were 4 of us in the doctor’s bungalow, from Australia and the UK – so this was a lot of fun (cards were our only form of entertainment – they are crucial). Accra is awesome for its social scene, and it’s easy to go there for weekends and get a decent hotel for $10-$20 a night.
We would travel every weekend (usually taking Fridays off!) to a different destination. A double room would be $13-20 depending on the niceness and the city. Lots to see on weekends-markets, beaches, waterfalls. Atibie is quiet but lovely. Most days we would cook dinner together and watch a movie or play cards. Various hospital staff would drop by to say hello. Some nights we’d go out to dinner with the doctors or watch a live band. Another town nearby had a group of volunteers from UK who we’d meet up with for drinks. |
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| Recommended vaccinations | Yellow fever is compulsory. Tuberculosis, meningococcal, hepatitis B, typhoid, and all the rest are recommended (depending on what you’ve already had).
Lots! Typhoid, hep A, hep B, tetanus, meningitis, yellow fever. We also got Rabies but that is perhaps optional. You also need malaria prophylaxis. |
AUD$250 depending on which you need |
ADDITIONAL DETAILS
| The good | Africa is amazing, and Ghana is an awesome country – I fell in love with the people and the place… the culture of dancing and music is fantastic… the people are the most genuine, friendliest people I have ever met.
The people. So friendly. If you looked lost someone would walk you the whole way to your destination even if they were going in the opposite direction. The music and colourful dresses. You can get dresses made in local fabrics which is great fun. The hospital. One of the cheapest hospital placements in Africa but it is so well set up and you feel very cared for. The money you pay goes directly into the hospital budget which is great. The doctors’ English is perfect. |
| The bad | Costs of flights – as it’s on the other side of the world, you have to get a few connecting flights via Europe or Dubai (so you may as well travel to other places while you’re at it!) Language barrier – Most patient want to or can only communicate in the local language, and thus you need a translator present during clinics. A lot of people speak English, especially in Accra (capital city), but in villages, some do and some don’t. The Ghana men you meet while travelling can be overwhelming. Sometimes it was just wanting to shake your hand and exchange emails, but when the 15th person that day interrupts your conversation to ask to be your facebook friend, it can be irritating! Getting marriage proposals is not uncommon. Very occasionally they would grab our arms and we’d slap them. It was never done in a malicious way though. |
| Further descriptions, comments or advice | Ghana is probably one of the most economically stable countries in Africa, so it is more developed than most African countries. You find that you experience a ‘big’ African city on weekends, but then go back to your village during the week and see the reality of rural Africa.
Ghana is a slow-paced country which took some getting used to, but this also really adds to its appeal. Everyone is so hospitable and genuine. In comparison to Asian destinations, it is very rare to be overcharged because you are white and there is way less hassling in markets and stores. Tourism is only just beginning and so you really get to see the locals at their best. Eric Sefa is an absolute gem- we would ring him with the most absurd questions and he would help us out of a sticky situation! The hospital can do basic bloods, ultrasounds and xrays but little else. It was a challenge trying to diagnose chest pain without ECG’s, troponins or echos! Clinical acumen is very important in the diagnosis (Prof Devitt would be proud). At times you feel lime you’re floundering but the doctors and medical assistants were very helpful back-ups if we got stuck. It was great fun trying to learn Twi and patients and doctors really appreciate your efforts. |
| For more information |
Contact Eric Sefa: electiveinghana@gmail.com, boatsefa09@gmail.com OR sefa@electiveghana.org |
