Meet our team in Ghana and the UK
The Leadership Team - COMPASS-Ghana
A caring team experienced in healthcare, social impact, innovation and transformational change.
Chief Executive Officer
With over 15 years of experience as a registered nurse (Ghana and UK). Dr Salifu was awarded his PhD from the University of Nottingham, UK, in 2019. The findings from his PhD that explored the experiences of men living with advanced prostate cancer and their family caregivers in Ghana is the brainchild of COMPASS Ghana. He is a lecturer in Palliative Care at the International Observatory on End of Life Care (IOELC), Division of Health Research, Lancaster University, UK.
Dr Salifu is a member of many committees within the University including the Senate, Research Ethics Committee, Education Committee, and Race and Equality Charter. He currently works on a European Union-funded project, MyPal that is using health apps to improve palliative care. He regularly publishes and is an active reviewer for journals in palliative care.
His research interest is in resource-poor communities and hardly-reached populations. He is passionate about making positive impacts in the lives of others and as an academic an advocate for the link between research, teaching and practice. Dr Yakubu is a founder of the Charity.
Chief Clinical Officer
With 36 years of experience as a registered nurse and lead ward sister, Katie trained at Southampton General Hospital in Hampshire, before moving to the Royal United Hospital Foundation Trust; leading a busy surgical ward delivering care for patients with urological conditions, bladder cancers, kidney, and prostate cancers.
Katie is now the Lead Ward Sister, Palliative and End of Life Care, of the inpatient unit within one of the UK’s largest and most innovative Hospices. Her team of 36 staff - care for patients with life limiting illnesses such as Motor Neurone Disease (MND), end stage heart failure and various complexities of cancers. Her leadership and the quality of care delivered by her team, has been continually recognised since 2017 as “Outstanding” by the independent auditors of the National Health Service (NHS) - the Care Quality Commission (CQC), most recently in July 2022.
Katie is recognised for being a change maker, and a vibrant and energetic leader, inspiring others to be successful. At her best when managing the complexity of clinical decisions that end-of-life care presents, making a difference when it matters most. Katie is a founder of COMPASS-Ghana.
Chief Operating Officer
Born in Accra - John has over 40 years of leadership, gained from a varied career across 20 years of military service, before moving into manufacturing, angel and social impact investment and not-for-profit sectors. At a director level since 1995, he has focused on innovation, transformational change, organisational development and leadership in the UK and overseas, most recently in the area of early interventions, where communities are empowered to take action and build resilience.
As the CEO of one of the UK’s leading Hospices, John is accredited with delivering a transformational change in the charities approach towards end-of-life care, in particular how it integrates with all its communities. The 7-year strategic plan “Everyday – Everyone” rewrote partnership working, focusing on the delivery of compassionate communities, with a remit for access for all within the development of an eco-system that placed care at the heart of a community, where patients had choice and communities Influence. Within three years of his appointment securing an outstanding assessment across four of the five criteria (Effective, Caring, Responsive and Well Led) by the Care Quality Commission, placing the hospice in the top 6% of social care providers. John is founder of COMPASS-Ghana.
John gained his MBA at the University of Bath in 1999.
The Founding Trustees
Pioneering leaders bringing a diverse blend of clinical, audit and commercial expertise.
Founding Trustee, and Chair COMPASS-Ghana
Dr Cecilia completed her midwifery training at Komfo Anokye Hospital, Kumasi, Ghana in 1968 before moving to the UK where she completed her UK general nursing course at Hull Royal Infirmary and worked as a staff nurse in paediatrics. In 1979 she began working at London's Margaret Pyke Centre where she worked as a clinical nurse specialist in sexual and reproductive health. She was the first BAME President of the Royal College of Nursing in its hundred years from 2015 to 2018 serving on the ethics committee and the menopause steering group. Chair of school governors for many years.
She received the RCN Certificate of Merit for outstanding service to members in 2000, the Bevan award for Health and Wellbeing in 2013, the United Nations Award for Women of Excellence in 2015 and awarded an Honorary Doctor of Health in 2016 by the University of Bradford.
In 2017, in Her Majesty's New Year’s Honours List, she was awarded a CBE in recognition of her role as a nurse, contributions to women’s health and her local community and was also awarded an Honorary Doctorate by the University of Nottingham. She also received a Fellowship from the Royal Society of Arts (FRSA).
In 2018 she received an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Portsmouth and the Chairs Award for the Windrush generation. In 2019, she received a lifetime achievement award from the British Journal of Nursing and an honorary doctorate University of Hull. In 2021 awarded the Royal College of Nursing Fellowship (FRCN).
Ernest worked for the NHS for 30years, the last 26 years as a Consultant Urologist. During this period, he was the Head of Department of Urology for 10 years, and Chairman of the Consultant Committee for 2 years. He was a Member of the North Wales Cancer Steering Committee and Clinical Lead for Urological Cancer in North Wales. He was an Honorary Lecturer in University of Cardiff Medical School, and a visiting Lecturer in University of Cape Coast Medical School Ghana. He performed the first ever Radical prostatectomy in Ghana and subsequently trained local urologists. He ran a successful Private practice in urology for 20 years.
He is a Deputy Lieutenant in the Preserved County of Gwynedd and Anglesey. He retired in September of 2019, but still offers service both in Gwynedd Hospital and in Ghana.
Peter Baxendell has worked for 38 years, 13 at the operating company board level in Unilever plc and then in ABF plc. Peter has worked in over 50 countries and runs companies in the UK, the Middle East, and Australia.
Involved in a diverse range of charitable activities, Peter spent the pandemic mentoring a young Ugandan fashion designer who provides work for the disabled; has advocated a career mentoring initiative for at-risk 15 – 17-year-olds, and championed the funding for a hospital-based mentoring service which helps young people affected by violence.
Ashley is a co-founder and Non-Executive Director of Sofala Partners, a specialist risk and investment advisory firm focused on sub-Saharan markets. Having begun his career at the Ghana Centre for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana), Ghana has been a key focus for Ashley for over 15 years. He is passionate about both private and public healthcare investments in Ghana and has advised the US and UK-listed healthcare providers on market entry in the country.
Previously based in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam, Ashley formerly served as General Manager at the pan-African advisory firm, Africapactice, in addition to consulting for the senior management teams of two of South Africa’s leading financial institutions, Old Mutual and Standard Bank.
Before this, he was a Senior Analyst for sub-Saharan Africa at Control Risks, a London-based consultancy, where he advised global companies on managing political and policy risks. Early in his career, Ashley worked in the office of the Director of Strategy at the World Bank Group in Washington, D.C. and at the United Nations Development Programme.
He holds a BA in Social and Political Sciences from Cambridge University and an MA in International Relations from the Johns Hopkins University Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS).
William is a partner with Mazars, an international professional services firm. He is an insurance specialist with a combined 30 years of experience auditing, advising and working in the industry. He has worked in the UK, Switzerland, and Germany.
Outside of audit, he has led transformation, corporate governance and forensic projects.
Between 2008-13, he held senior finance roles with UK composite insurance companies, notably Liverpool Victoria and a division of Swiss Re.
With a BA (Hons) in history from Cambridge University, William qualified as a chartered accountant in 1989 before joining KPMG in London.
COMPASS-Ghana (NGO) - Founding Directors
Influencers with a proven record of delivery in the Ghanaian Health System.
His career started as a Clinical Nurse for 7 years. He is a registered General Nurse and a Health Financing Specialist with over 15 years of cumulative experience. Isaac holds an M.Phil. in Health Services Management from the University of Ghana. He has also received advanced training in Corporate Governance from the Institute of Directors, Ghana, Healthcare Financing for Universal Health Coverage from the W.H.O. and Economic Evaluation in Global Health from the University of Washington.
In the past decade while working with the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA), he has participated in several conferences and training programs for health care providers and country-level health insurance agencies generally in Ghana and elsewhere.
He is currently a Clinician and Deputy Director with the NHIA in charge of the Claims Processing Centre for the Northern Zone. He participates in benefits package reforms, service tariff and medicines list review in addition to his core responsibilities.
Madam Dzigbodi qualified as a State Registered and Public Nurse in 1988, qualifying as a Registered Mental Nurse a year later. She completed her MPhil in Psychology, and BA (Hons) Nursing with Sociology at Ghana’s premier university, the University of Ghana, Legon.
Her work experience includes clinical, teaching and administrative roles spanning over 30 years which included Director of Nursing Trust Hospital, Tema between 2005 – 2008. She has been a lecturer across several eminent universities in Ghana. A founding head of the department of Nursing, Garden City University College. Most recently the Vice President - Mental Health Division – Ghana College of Nurses and Midwives, 2016 to 2020.
Her work has been widely published covering everything from “Effects of chronic hepatitis B infection on pregnancy and birth outcomes in Ghana” to “Maternal and Perinatal outcomes among pregnant women with urinary tract infections”. She is passionate about learning and the development of the nursing profession.
Dr Delanyo DOVLO, has chaired the Faculty of Public Health at the Ghana College of Physicians and Surgeons since 2020. He retired as Director of Health Systems at the WHO Regional Office for Africa in 2018 further appointments included WHO Representative to Rwanda and also Health Systems Adviser at WHO-HQ, helping to develop and run WHO’s Global Learning Program on National Health Strategies, Policies and Plans.
He Is a Ghanaian public health physician, a graduate of the University of Ghana Medical School, with an MPH from the University of Leeds, Membership of the West Africa College of Physicians, and is a Foundation Fellow of the Ghana College of Physicians & Surgeons. In 2017 he received an Honorary Doctorate of Sciences from the University of Health and Allied Sciences in Ghana.
He is a consultant for WHO and other organizations on countries’ Health Policy and Planning with interests in Health Workforce and Health Systems development. He chairs the “African Platform for Human Resources for Health” and the WHO “AFRO High-Level Committee on Human Resources for Health”.
His recent work has included health policy/strategy reviews in Nigeria, Rwanda, Zimbabwe, South Sudan, Eswatini and Ghana.
Dr. THOMAS WINSUM ANABAH is a distinguished Ghanaian health professional who hails from Garu District in the Upper East Region of Ghana. Graduating from the Higher Institute of Medical Sciences, Santa Clara, Cuba, in 2001; the Higher Institute of Medical Sciences, Havana, Cuba, Anaesthesiology and Resuscitation in 2007; and a master’s degree in Critical Care and Emergencies from the University of Rome, La Sapienza in 2009.
Dr Thomas is a member of several prestigious organizations including the Ghana Medical Association, Ghana Anaesthetists Society, Ghana College of Surgeons and Physicians, Cuban Society of Anaesthesiology and Resuscitation and the Association of Anaesthetists of Great Britain and Ireland.
Throughout his career he has sought innovative solutions to health care, establishing 'HABANA MEDICAL SERVICE' a private hospital in Tamale in 2012, where he is currently the Chief Executive Officer. He has also held a variety of Medical Director appointments – including the Ridge Regional Hospital, Accra, examining Physician for the United Nations (UN) and Head of the Department of Anaesthesia, at the School of Medicine and Health Sciences, University for Development Studies (UDS).
He led on a key health research project successfully establishing and securing funds for the African Centre for Health Policy Research and Analysis (ACH-PRA), a health policy think-thank headquartered in Tamale, championing the introduction of the B.Sc. Nurse Anaesthesia programme, the first of its kind in Africa, which has been rolled out at UDS since 2012. This program successfully establishing a career path for Nurse Anaesthetists in Ghana and beyond, enabling access to remote communities across the region.
During the Ebola outbreak in 2015, he adeptly collaborated with Johns Hopkins University as a local representative to conduct training exercises on universal precaution adherence.
Our Partners
Leaders of the clinical teams who work together to deliver early intervention and palliative and end-of-life care across all diseases.
Kumasi
Consultant Family Physician/ Palliative Care Physician.
Head Family Medicine Directorate, Head of Palliative Care Team, Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH), Kumasi
Dr Spangenberg grew up in Spain where she went to medical school and moved to Britain where she trained as a GP. She is currently the Residency Programme Director of Family Medicine in Kumasi, where she pioneered the training in 2005 and has successfully trained over 40 specialists and fully-fledged trainers in family medicine under the auspices of The Ghana College of Physicians and Surgeons (GCPS), and recently with the West African College of Physicians (WACP).
The Palliative Care Unit at KATH was established in 2015 under her leadership and it has gradually grown to presently have 5 palliative care specialist nurses supported by three doctors.
Dr Spangenberg has worked in Ghana for nearly 30 years, with experience spanning across patients living with HIV/TB/ cancer/ stroke/ sickle cell and other life-limiting diseases. She is passionate to see all who need palliative care in Ghana and beyond receive this basic human right, by exposing as many health care students and established health care workers as possible, to the discipline. This includes all family medicine trainees, with the expectation that a network will be formed of primary care givers trained with basic palliative care skills for their daily work. This will greatly improve palliative care services across the primary health care level and make the services more accessible to the community.
MD, PhD, Consultant Breast Surgeon, C.E.O., Peace and Love Hospitals,
President and Founder, Breast Care International
Dr. (Mrs.) Beatrice Wiafe Addai began her medical officer career in 1989 at Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital Kumasi and has over 30 years of experience as a Medical Doctor in Ghana. She has been a Breast Surgeon for the past eighteen years and a Consultant in Breast Cancer Management. Her training and wide scope of study as a specialist in Breast cancer management, and a Surgeon has placed her in a convenient position as the Chief Executive Officer and the Consultant Breast Surgeon of the Peace and Love Hospitals both in Accra and Kumasi; a specialist hospital that is championing the cause of Breast Cancer and its related diseases in Ghana.
Peace and Love Hospitals now serve as a resource Centre for the Diagnosis, treatment, Counselling, Rehabilitation, and Research of Breast Cancer, Cervical Cancer, Hepatitis Infections and Renal Dialysis among others.
Concurrently Dr Wiafe founded Breast Care International (BCI), an NGO that seeks the promotion of Breast Cancer Awareness in Ghana, especially in remote communities in 2002 in Kumasi to intensify public awareness of the disease. This Public Awareness campaign has salvaged hundreds of women and men from the devastating effects of Breast Cancer and has over 800 survivors.
Accra
Specialist Family Physician – Ridge Hospital
Dr Edwina Addo Opare-Lokko is a Senior Specialist Family/ Palliative Physician at the Greater Accra Regional Hospital. She has substantial experience in providing comprehensive, continuous, coordinated care to people of all ages and gender, no matter the nature of their health problems, in
the context of their families and society. Dr Opare-Lokko is also the National Training Coordinator for the Modular Family Medicine Membership Programme, Faculty of Family Medicine, Ghana College of Physicians and Surgeons. She is involved in several palliative care research in Africa.
In addition, she has responsibility for providing oversight for the postgraduate Palliative Medicine training at the Department of Family Medicine/Polyclinic, Korle Bu Teaching Hospital for the Ghana College of Physicians and Surgeons. With a keen interest in research and teaching, Dr Opare-Lokko, as Head of Discipline - Family Medicine and Palliative Medicine, is very much involved as a teacher and lecturer of undergraduates at the Accra College of Medicine.
Reverend Monsignor Alex Bobby Benson, was ordained at the Holy Spirit Cathedral Ghana, on 6th July 1980. He graduated from St Peter’s Regional Seminary, Cape Coast Ghana, before pursuing Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) in Ireland and USA. Returning to Ghana in 1999 where he worked as a chaplain and taught CPE at St Dominic Hospital, at Akwatia.
In 2002 he moved to the seat of the Diocese in Koforidua beginning the Matthew 25 Ministry in 1998 at Akwatia driven by his experience of caring for individuals across all faiths and none, diagnosed with HIV/AIDs whilst in the USA.
As one of the Monsignors in the Catholic Church in Ghana, he continues to push this agenda, its vision to become a formidable partner in the response to HIV/AIDs that require care, love and dignity.
Want to know more?
To find out more about our team’s journeys or have a conversation then please reach out.
