Ghana spends roughly $230 million yearly on treating injuries and trauma-related issues, according to Dr Lawrence Ofori-Boadu, interim Director of the Ghana Health Service's Institutional Care Division.

He revealed at the Orthopaedic Association of Ghana's second annual general and scientific meeting last Friday that traffic accidents were a major contributor to the injuries and trauma citizens experienced.

According to him, the country's trauma surgeon-to-patient ratio is concerning, with just roughly 54 orthopaedic and trauma specialists.

“GHS can barely count the number of orthopaedic and trauma surgeons within our facilities. Statistics show that many Ghanaians suffer from trauma-related injuries and at least four people die every day to road traffic accident, with associated trauma injuries.”

“When we see an increasing trend in the cases of injuries and trauma, we get worried about the numbers in correlation with the number of orthopaedic and trauma surgeons available and how and where we can access their services.”

The theme for the event was dubbed: “Challenges of orthopaedic and trauma care in Ghana: the way forward”.

Professor Richard M. K. Adanu, Rector of the Ghana College of Physicians and Surgeons, who was also present at the meeting, expressed his disappointment with the country's lack of orthopaedic and trauma surgeons.

He proposed that the institution establish a Faculty of Orthopaedic and Trauma Surgery, as well as the establishment of two more training centres outside of Accra and Kumasi, to address the problem.

Dr. Ofori-Boadu stated in his presentation that transportation-related injuries accounted for 93,379 recorded cases in 2019.

In the following years, the number of cases reported grew, reaching 111,931 in 2020 and 125,673 in 2021.

According to the information supplied, there were 119,613 cases of home-related or domestic injuries in 2019.

240,543 cases were reported in 2020, with 116,073 cases reported in 2021.

Source: The Independent Ghana