Department of Medicine – Korle Bu Teaching Hospital

Department of Medicine – Korle Bu Teaching Hospital

Vision
To achieve early recovery of all patients and clients through excellent quality healthcare
Mission
To provide tertiary healthcare and facilitate education and training of doctors and nurses and other healthcare personnel.
Profile
The department of Medicine is the physician specialist department of the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital which renders medical and consultancy service as well as offer training and conduct research. The department has a bed capacity of 277 and staffs strength of 489 workers.
The department occupies the main four (4) storey medical block. Being a Sub BMC the department has other units hooked onto it namely, Chest unit, Central Outpatient Department, Surgical Medical Emergency unit, Fevers Unit, Addictive Disease Unit and Renal Dialysis Unit.
The Sub-BMC is managed by a team that comprises the Head of the Sub BMC, an Administrator, an Accountant, Deputy Director Of Nursing Service DDNS, a Pharmacist and an Engineer.
Korle Bu administration closely work with the University of Ghana Medical School in the administration of the department of Medicine, especially with regards to training and examination of Medical and Nursing Students both local and foreign as well as postgraduate training.
Professor S.R.A. Doku was the first Head of the department. Since then, the department has had many prominent and illustrious heads who largely contributed to the expansion of the department by providing clinical care for adult patients in various areas such as below:-
– Cardiology
– Dermatology
– Endocrinology
– Gastroenterology
– Infectious diseases
– Nephrology
– Respiratory medicine
– Rheumatology
– Neurology
– Therapeutics
The department provides Specialist consultancy and services for referred medical cases to all categories of persons regardless of age and nationality in the areas of;
Neurology Unit
This unit provides both specialists out-patient and in-patient consultation for general neurology and for Epilepsy as a neurological subspecialty.
The works of this unit is complemented by the use of current Technology electrophysiology.This includes a
– Nerve conductive Studies
– Electromyography
-Electroencephalography
– Evoked potentials are available for select patients.
Plans are far advanced for the start of a mobile stroke unit within the neurology department to help care for patients with stroke
Respiratory Unit
This unit provides specialty services for wide range of respiratory illness.It also offers respiratory investigations such as spirometry and bronchoscope. This unit also runs the asthma clinic and isin-charge of the chest clinic which see patients with tuberculosis.
Renal Unit
The renal unit provides specialist services for renal diseases and runs the renal dialysis unit It provides hem dialysis for both acute and chronic kidney diseases. It also undertakes renal biopsies to aid in the diagnosis of kidney diseases.
Gastroenterology Unit
The gastroenterology unit provides specialist services for ailments afflicting the gastrointestinal tract.It runs a once week out-patient clinics and provides advisory services for chronic liver diseases. It undertakes liver biopsies to aid the diagnosis of liver diseases.
Cardiology Unit
The Cardiology unit sees diseases of the cardiovascular system. It also provides non-invasive cardiovascular investigations such as echocardiograms and electrocardiograms.It runs an out-patients clinic once a week
Endocrine Unit
The endocrine unit provides specialist services for diseases of the endocrine system, this covers ailment that have to do with hormonal imbalance and related illness. It also runs an out patients clinic once a week.
Dermatology Unit
The dermatology unit see skin ailments and runs twice a week clinic for the out-patients.It undertakes procedures such as biopsies and minor curative surgeries for skin conditions.
Rheumatology Unit
The rheumatology unit sees patients with rheumatologic diseases and autoimmune conditions. It runs a specialist clinic ones a week and sees out-patients with rheumatologic conditions. It also carries out procedures like Arthrocentesis for treatment.
Chest Unit
Cater for patients with disease caused by mycobacterium tuberculosis and voluntary counseling and testing chest department was well noted for the treatment of tuberculosis (TB) cases, chest infection and HIV Cases which normally associated with TB cases.
Most of the TB cases come with various conditions which are:
– Pulmonary TB
– Miliary TB
– Extra Pulmonary TB
– Pleural Effusion in the lungs
– Hamophysis TB
– Cellulites TB
– TB Diabetic / Hypertension
– Emphysema TB
– PTB with Anemia
– PTB with Sickle Cell
– TB with CCF (Congestive Cardiac Failure)
– TB with lobber pneumonia
– TB with Chronic liver disease
– TB with Para paresis
Fevers Unit
The unit treats these cases
– Chicken pox
– Measles
– Rabies
– TB in children
– Tetanus – HIV infection with lober Pneumonia
-Pharyngeal Candidacies
-Deep vein thrombosis
-Cryptococcus Meningitis
– Cerebral toxoplasmosis
-Disseminated Kochs
-Liver failure
-Urinary tract infection
-Cardiac vascular Accident
– Septicemia
-Chronic diarrhea
– Renal failure
-Peripheral Neuropathy
Addictive Disease Unit (Add)
Usually deals with clients from diverse background to be treated and advised to abstain from the abuse of psychoactive substance notable alcohol, marijuana, cocaine, Heroine, injection of pethidine.
Surgical Medical Emergency Unit
Is a non trauma emergency admission unit of the hospital.Patients are observed and managed for some few hours or days after which they are either discharged or admitted to the medical and surgical wards for further treatment.
Intensive Care Unit
The department is setting up the intensive care unit to render services to the general public very soon.
Renal Dialysis Unit
Is a specialized facility that provides the following service
Management of acute renal failure and kidney disease
-follow up of transplant patient and perform kidney transplant
-Epidemiological research
-Donor Screening for Kidney transplantation
-Heamodialysis of patient on holidays
-Training facility for post and undergraduate Doctors, Nurses and technicians
Electrophysiology: – This unit provides diagnostic and therapeutic services, this include:-
– Electroencephalograph (EEG)
-Electromyography (EMG)
-Nerve Conduction Studies (NCS)
-Auditory Evoke Potential (AEP)
– Visual Evoked Potential (VEP)
-Brainstem Auditory Evoke Potential (BAEP)
– Somatosensensory Evoked Potential (SEP)
– Electrocardiograph (ECG)
Teaching/Training
– The department offers training for a wide variety of trainees.
– Medical students from University of Ghana Medical School.
– Nursing students from nursing training school from Korle Bu, University of Ghana andother private and state nursing schools
– Postgraduate medical Trainees of the Ghana College of physicians and surgeons, some of these doctors come from other countries in the sub-region and beyond.
– Foreign-trained doctors in preparation for their local examinations.
– Peru- operative nurses
– House officers and nursing interns
– The department also host and participates in regular examination of the following institution
– University of Ghana medical school
– Ghana College of physicians and surgeons
– Ghana Medical and Dental Council for foreign-trained doctors
– University of Ghana Nursing School
– Nursing training colleges
Research
The department undertakes research in all its specialties and also does collaborative research works with other institutions such as university of Ghana and Ministry of Health and external research organizations.
Activity Areas
The activities areas of the Department of Medicine include Fevers OPD, Chest OPD and
Central Out Patients Department
This is the first point of call for referred cases for the various specialty clinics.

General physician consultation from Monday to Friday from 8 o’clock in the morning.
General wards Medical 1, 2, 3,
Special Amenity (Medical 4th floor)
Treatment Room: – Dressing of wounds is done at COPD unit throughout the week.
Pharmacy: – Medical pharmacy will soon be in operation.
Human Resource
The department has a best human resource base and can boast of some prominent physicians and consultants available in the country and beyond who offer services to both local and foreign organizations.
A weekly Friday clinical meeting and monthly mortality meetings are used to address any shortfall in patients care and educate medical staffs to adhere to excellence, in patient management.