Ghana needs to train more health personnel – Dr Assabil

An official of the Ministry of Health (MOH) said achieving the Millennium Development Goals by 2015 will be a mirage for Ghana if the country fails to train more health workers to manage health facilities.

Dr Kwesi Assabil, Deputy Director in charge of Human Resource Development at the MOH, advocated the formulation of policies to help increase the number of health personnel to ensure quality health care delivery.

He was speaking at the Central Regional 2012 Annual Performance Review Conference, held in Cape Coast, under the theme: “ scaling up best practices to achieve  the Millennium   Development  Goals”.

The three-day event is being attended by district health directors, medical officers, hospital administrators, student nurses and other stakeholders.

Dr Assabil said that the Ministry of Health was doing everything possible to put in place the necessary facilities and logistics to help train more nurses and paramedics in the country.

He said that about 16 health training institutions were operating in the country and there has been an increase in the number of midwife trainees.

Dr Assabil said in the Central Region alone, there were three general nursing training schools at Twifo Praso, Dunkwa-on Offin and Cape Coast as well as two midwifery schools, and one general mental health care training school.

He said with the migration of the staff of the Ghana Health Service (GHS) onto the Single Spine Salary Structure, the salaries of the GHS staff had been enhanced, and urged them to let this reflect in the work.

He tasked the participants to take the conference seriously and implement all the programmes that would be adopted at the end of the conference.

Dr Assabil commended the Central Regional Health Directorate  for making their health facilities disability friendly.

He also praised the facility for engaging the services of sign-language interpreters at the district and regional hospitals to assist health workers manage clients with speech and auditory impairment, and urged other health facilities in the country to do same.

The Regional Director of Health Services, Dr Samuel Kwashie,  said in the year under review, the directorate asked public health facilities  in the region  to give priority attention to persons living with disabilities   (PLWDS).

He said that in  May  last year, a health education programme  on malaria , family planning  and HIV was organized  for   220 PLWDS , and in December the same year, 125 PLWDS were counselled and screened for diabetes, hypertensions and HIV.

Dr Kwashie said three qualified PLWDS, who were employed to work with the Central Regional Health Service,  demonstrated that “disability  is not inability”.

He said the  Kasoa and Ewim health centres  had been elevated to the status of Polyclinics.

Dr Kwashie announced that the transition of the Central Regional Hospital to the Cape Coast Teaching Hospital was at an advanced stage.

He said the Cape Coast Teaching Hospital  has been assessed and accredited by the Medical and Dental Council  of Ghana  and the National Accreditation Board as  a Teaching  Hospital for Medical training.

Dr Kwashie said that  10 new renal dialysis machines  donated by the TOKUDA foundation in Japan, had been  installed  at the Cape Coast Teaching Hospital .

He said civil and architectural works of the Diagnostic Centre Complex had been completed and the installation of relevant equipment  was expected  to start  soon.

Dr Kwashie  said that the centre when fully equipped , would have an MRI, CT Scan,  X-ray, Endoscopy and ECG facilities and that two other structures  to house an additional MRI and CT Scan, sponsored by the Ministry of Health  were also almost ready .

On National Ambulance Services, Dr Kwashie said the region in 2012, had two ambulance service stations at Mankessim and Winneba initially but in the course of the year, seven additional stations were established in Cape Coast, Twifo Praso, Assin Foso, Dunkwa-On-Offin, Agona Swedru and Dewurampong and Breman Asikuma.

He said last year, 78 health workers,  including 54 nurses and midwives, retired  from the GHS  in the region, 13 resigned,  27  vacated post and two accounts officers and one accountant were dismissed for financial malfeasance.

Source: GNA