Before Rabito Clinic grew into a recognized medical practice in Ghana, its founder, Prof. Edmund Delle, had to begin somewhere. And that beginning was far removed from what one might expect of a doctor returning home after years of medical training in Europe.
Before Rabito Clinic grew into a recognized medical practice in Ghana, its founder, Prof. Edmund Delle, had to begin somewhere. And that beginning was far removed from what one might expect of a doctor returning home after years of medical training in Europe.
There was no fully equipped clinic waiting for him. His belongings were still in Italy, and he was staying in accommodation provided by an acquaintance in Kanda while waiting for them to arrive.
But Prof. Delle was not prepared to sit around until everything was in place.
His first move towards establishing his private medical practice was remarkably simple: he sent a young woman to Makola Market to buy him a table and a chair.
That was all he needed to get started.
“I can’t just come and sit down and wait for these things,” he recalled telling himself.
He then gave the instruction that would mark the beginning of his journey into private practice.
“I asked the girl, ‘Go to Makola Market and get me a table and a chair,’ and that’s how I started,” he said.
In an interview with broadcaster Kafui Dey, Prof. Delle recounted how he began seeing patients with those basic items while making arrangements for the medical practice he hoped to build.
A young doctor who knew what he wanted
Returning to Ghana was one thing. Establishing a private medical practice was another.
Prof. Delle said his decision to go into private practice was deliberate. He did not want to return home and simply follow the conventional route of working at an established government hospital.
Instead, he wanted to build something of his own.
“I went to see the minister of health,” he recalled, referring to the late former minister of health who was in office at the time.
He said he introduced himself as a young doctor who had just returned from Italy and explained the professional path he had chosen.
“I’m a young man. I’ve just come from Italy, but I’ve made up my mind that I want to do private practice. I don’t want to go to Korle Bu. I want to do private practice,” he recounted telling the minister.
It was a bold declaration, particularly for someone just beginning his professional journey in Ghana.
Private practice required more than medical knowledge. He needed to understand the regulatory requirements, obtain the necessary approvals and put in place the arrangements required to operate.
Prof. Delle said he approached the minister to explain his intentions and present the plan he had prepared.
“When I went to see the minister, I spoke to him. I’m a young man. I’ve come, but this is my plan. I want to do private practice,” he recalled.
The training that gave him confidence
Behind Prof. Delle’s determination was the training he had received in Italy under Professor Rabito, the mentor after whom his clinic would be named.
He credited that experience with preparing him to work independently and attend to patients outside the environment in which he had trained.
“Rabito had trained me to go to any place in Italy there and take care of the people. The training was top, but I could stand on my own,” he said.
For him, the experience had provided more than professional knowledge. It had given him the confidence to return to Ghana and pursue the independent practice he envisioned.
That confidence mattered because he was beginning with limited resources. His belongings had not arrived, and he did not have the fully equipped facility he might have wanted.
But he believed his training had prepared him to take the next step.
A small man with big ideas
While his practice started with two basic items, Prof. Delle said his ambitions were much bigger than the room in which he began.
He had prepared a plan outlining his vision for the business, including its potential expansion across Ghana.
The plan attracted attention from at least one person he approached.
“One of the people I contacted said, ‘The small man with big ideas,’” he recalled.
