Former MP urges health care givers to synchronize activities for quality care

A former Member of Parliament for Agotime Ziope, Juliana Azumah-Mensah, has urged health care facilities especially the private health care institutions to synchronize their roles towards the creation of a positive interface with their clients to ensure quality health care delivery. 

According to her, the introduction of capitation by the National Health Insurance Authority, (NHIA) has generated a keen competition among the health facilities where clients will opt to register with those that provide utmost care. 

Madam Azumah-Mensah made the call at the launch of the 25th World Day of the Sick and the maiden Ho Catholic Diocesan Best Health Workers Award Ceremony at the Margaret Marquart Catholic Hospital at Kpando in the Volta Region.

There is no gainsaying that the National Catholic Health Services plays an important role in augmenting the efforts of the Ministry of Health in the health care delivery in the country. 

Established as a member of the Christian Health Services, it started in 1950 at the time where there was the urgent need to establish institutional health facilities for rural dwellers who had no virtual access to orthodox health care. 

They initially rendered services through small clinics and health posts until 1977 when the first Health Care Policy of the Church was instituted. 

So far, the CHS has 26 hospitals, 30 clinics, three nursing and three midwifery training colleges countrywide. 

The Ho Catholic Diocesan Health Service with a bed capacity of 308, attended to over 14 thousand in-patient clients.  

In 2016, the health facilities attended to 132 thousand clients in the Out Patient Department in the in the Diocesan facilities and conducted 200 thousand 286 supervised deliveries. 

The World Day of the Sick was instituted by Pope John Paul the second on 11th February 1985 to commemorate and reflect on the needs of the sick and those who work to assist the sick and the poor through care giving including family members, health workers and volunteers. 

The Catholic Health Service has therefore adopted the day to honour the efforts of all health workers in their health institutions. 

Mad. Juliana Azumah-Mensah who was a former Executive Secretary of the Ho Catholic Health Service commended the health workers particularly Margaret Marquart Hospital for providing excellent health care delivery to its catchment area and urged the health workers to overcome the challenges they encounter to ensure compromised health care delivery. 

The Catholic Bishop of Ho, the Most Rev. Emmanuel Kofi Fianu who is also the Episcopal Chairman of the Catholic Health Services urged the health workers to change their attitude towards their clients and should take the health profession as a vocation and should not regard their services to their clients as a favour. 

The Medical Director in charge of the Margaret Marquart Catholic Hospital, Rev. Sister Dr. Lucy Hometorwu called on all to take control of their lives by adopting healthy lifestyle. 

She urged the health workers to treat the sick, the poor and the marginalized with professionalism because they look to them as a source of encouragement, for healing and consolation. 

The acting Executive Secretary of the Ho Diocesan Catholic Health Service, Emmanuel Hanson Torde disclosed that as at December last year, the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) owed the Ho Diocesan Health Service facilities over five million Ghana cedis, a situation which is preventing them from the procurement of essential drugs. 

Five workers of the NCHS were awarded for their valuable services to the Diocesan Health facilities.


GBC