Government remains committed to quality healthcare for rural dwellers – GHS Director-General
The Director General of the Ghana Health Service (GHS), Dr. Patrick Kumah Aboagye has said that government remains committed to ensuring the provision of quality health care to rural areas.
Speaking at the 3rd Social and Behaviour Change Summit in Accra, Dr. Aboagye noted that efforts are underway to ensure rural areas get the needed personnel and logistics.
Community-Based Health Planning and Services (CHPS) compounds and health centres in some rural and peri-urban areas lack both the requisite personnel and equipment to take care of the healthcare needs of residents.
Health personnel, due to the lack of social amenities, and logistics refuse postings to these areas. The few health personnel who accept postings to rural areas have to grapple with the limited facilities available.
Dr. Aboagye made it known that the Service, despite the challenges, remains committed to bridging the health gap for rural dwellers.
“I think as a developing country, you know that development is not going to be equal. We have the urban areas, we have the rural areas, so access is important, geographical access”, he said.
He admitted a lot more will have to be done, hence the introduction of the network of practice initiative.
“Health centres that are close to the people are going to be upgraded to offer 24-hour service, high quality, expand the package of service they render so that people can have easy access to care and also decongest our hospitals and most importantly, reduce the cost of care to government and also to the individual,” he explained.
Regarding the shortage of health professionals, Dr. Patrick Kumah Aboagye assured that the government is taking steps to address the mass exodus of these professionals.
He said “Ideally we wish that nobody leaves so that the numbers can be stable. What we are trying to do is to improve the quality, we are also recruiting additional 250 physician assistants to ensure that the services at the community level improves. And we will continue to advocate for conditions that will allow people to stay.”
The 3rd Social and Behaviour Change Summit, which ends on August 15, will see stakeholders deliberate on measures to address critical issues related to social and behavioural change and discuss strategies for improving the healthcare system towards sustainable development.
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By Samuel Yeboah Adams
