The Ghana Health Service Council has commended the management and staff of Bongo District Hospital in the Upper East region for their quality health services delivery despite poor infrastructure and other challenges.
The Council gave the commendation during a working visit to the Upper East region. Members of the Council visited the Bongo District Hospital, Namoo Health Centre, Apuwongo CHPS compound, and Upper East Regional Hospital at Bolgatanga.
The Chairman of the Council, Dr Yao Yeboah, justified the visit, stating that the Council members do not believe in armchair leadership hence the visit which will see them in all the 10 regions
He explained the visit would afford them the opportunity to appreciate the challenges affecting healthcare services delivery in the country for redress.
Dr. Yeboah advised management to show appreciation to staff who stay in deprived areas for a longer period by ensuring their promotion and study leave are processed earlier than their colleagues in the cities or urban areas.
“Our visit to Bongo District Hospital has revealed that quality healthcare services are not just about building, but staff attitude, commitment and dedication are the building blocks of quality healthcare. The council is enthused with the commitment and dedications exhibited by the staff,” said the Chairman.
The management of the district hospital highlighted lack of space at the wards, leakages of the roof, high robbery cases, lack of staff accommodation, and no ambulance vehicle among others as some of the challenges they’re facing.
Despite these challenges, the hospital has effective referral system via the use of ‘Whatsapp’. The hospital has not recorded maternal mortality since the beginning of this year.
Management of the facility added that patients refuse referral from Bongo District Hospital to other hospitals for further treatment, and as a result, they are forced to allow patients to pair on beds.
Bongo District Hospital is a 76 bed capacity facility serving 134 communities. The facility has over 200 staff (2 doctors, 21 midwives and other professionals), with an average of 150 cases a day; 10 deliveries and 2 caesarian section procedure daily. Four sub districts refer cases to the hospital.
Unapproved medical bills
At the Regional Hospital, Bolgatanga, the Director General (DG) of the Ghana Health Service (GHS) , Dr Anthony Nsiah Asare charged the management to desist from charging unauthorized medical fees from the innocent patients.
“No hospital manager has the right to approve and charge patients medical fees without approval from parliament. Even the Director General has no right to charge fees without approval from parliament,” the Director General said.
He added that co-payment is not accepted in NHIS, hence it must be abolished.
The challenges and achievements of the hospital were discussed, following a staff durbar where employees raised concerns about their welfare and made other submissions to help improve health services delivery at the hospital and in the region.
The Regional Hospital, Bolgatanga is a 220 bed capacity facility, with 7 mechanized doctors and 2 Cuba doctors. Some nurses and 4 doctors have been sponsored by the hospital to pursue specialist programs. Recently the laboratory unit of the hospital was given a 4 star rate, which confirms quality laboratory services at the hospital.
In a meeting with the Regional Health Services Management Team, Municipal and District Directors of Health Services, and Medical Superintendents, Dr. Nsiah Asare cautioned managers against misapplication of MCHNPS fund and advised them to pay the allocated amount to the Community Health Officers.
He also asked them to ensure identification of healthcare providers by the use of name tags (appropriately with name, picture and position).
He also asked managers to address healthcare providers especially nurses by their names, and emphasized on the need for managers and healthcare providers to avoid conflict of interest, particularly those who work with the public service and engaging in private health services.
The Council paid a courtesy call on the Regional Coordinating Council officers to discuss the health status and health indicators of the region.
By 3news.com|Ghana