After five years at Tamale Teaching Hospital, there are still major setbacks. One is the inability to sterilize telescopes and fiberoptic cables, which are used to remove foreign bodies from children’s lungs, because the sterilizer lacks a timer and will ruin the instruments. Another is the repeated occurrence of voltage surges, which this week destroyed our microscope’s light source and four bulbs. The microscope is critical in caring for our patients. A replacement part is being obtained from Zeiss Meditec and in the meantime, a Design for Vision light source, which happens to connect with the Zeiss fiberoptic cable, is being used to give light to our microscope. This is our last light source that fits.
Some of the staff are a pleasure to work with and the knowledge of the young physicians is impressive. Our Ghanaian attending physicians all have PhDs, having done graduate work in Russia, Netherlands, Germany, Great Britain and the Ukraine. It is a privilege to be working with them.
Tamale Teaching Hospital has ten Cuban physicians rotating every two years as a result of a Cuba-Ghana agreement and their presence is greatly appreciated by the Ghanaians. Recently the hospital received an ambulance from Chicago with the help of the American Northern Ghana Association. This ambulance now joins the ambulance donated by Iraq, with its prominent Arabic markings, picking up patients throughout Tamale. I am the only United States physician in this area which is seventy percent Muslim and I am well accepted and appreciated.
