The Ghana Association of Certified Registered Anaesthetists (CAGRA) is set to hold its Fourth Annual General Conference (4th AGC) for the year 2022 in the Upper West Region.
The conference will be held from October 24 – 27, 2022 in Wa on the theme: “The Impact of Certified Registered Anaesthetists in the Health Delivery System, The Law and Practices”.
Speaking in an interview with Info Radio, the Upper West Regional Chairman of the GACRA, Mr Peter-Paul Der said the essence of the conference is to appraise the works of the GACRA over the year and plan for the ensuing year.
He reckoned the association was faced with some setbacks in terms of conditions of service and legislative infractions, which led the association to embark on a strike action earlier in the year.
The association had laid down its tools over the expiration of its members’ licenses and refusal to renew same with the Medical and Dental Council (MDC) for what it described as the latter’s failure to champion the cause of anaesthetists and recognize them as certified anaesthetists, as amended by law.
Mr Der said even though the industrial action brought untold burden on the healthcare system, it was necessary to seek redress for their concerns.
He indicated that the conference would offer the platform for a multi-stakeholder engagement towards proffering solutions to some of the key challenges that confronted the association in the healthcare delivery system.
He said the contention of their status as certified registered anaesthetists had led the Ministry of Health (MoH) to constitute a committee to probe the matter whose decision and advice would be heard at the conference.
Meanwhile, the GACRA Regional Chairman lamented the inadequacy of anaesthetists in the region to provide anaesthesia services for the overwhelming number of clients requiring it at the various hospitals in the region.
He indicated that the Upper West region could only boast of about 17 certified anaesthetists which he described as woefully inadequate against the close to 110 thousand population of the region.
He encouraged young nurses and other medical persons who were interested in anaesthetics to undertake the course to augment the current anaesthetic staff for enhanced healthcare delivery in the region.
He said the field of anaesthetics might to financially rewarding as other health professions but assured it was more fulfilling and eternally rewarding, as it concerned saving precious lives.
The AGC is expected to bring together a plethora of stakeholders, personalities and actors in the health sector under a single roof to discuss the theme.