The economy of every country is influenced by the health of it’s working class and indigenes as a whole. Over the years, Ghana as a country through the Ministry of Health (MoH), has embarked on so many projects in every part of the country to increase access to healthcare which is a basic need.
Specialist Care
The Ashanti Regional Health Directorate is looking into several forthcoming hospital projects in the region for specialist care as part of attempts to distribute specialist services to every part of the region.
The Regional Director of Health Services, Dr. Emmanuel Tinkorang, who dropped the hint, explained that the objective was to make specialized care for trauma, maternity and child health, orthopedics, and other conditions more accessible to the general public at the district level.
Speaking at a year-end review meeting on Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) in Kumasi, he stated, “This year we are hoping that most of our ongoing hospital projects will be commissioned and we want to earmark some of them for specialist care,”
Dr. Emmanuel Tinkorang
A total of 32 hospitals, including 16 Agenda 111 projects, were in various stages of completion in the region, according to the regional director, who expressed optimism that they will join forces this year to support the execution of the specialized care agenda.
The majority of the projects, he said, should be finished by the end of the year, bringing high-quality healthcare closer to the people. He said work was proceeding along smoothly on all the different projects.
He continued by saying, “That means that we will need a lot of human resources so we are also mobilizing human resources in terms of nurses, doctors and the paramedics all to support in health care delivery.”
Training Centre For Specialist Health Care Providers
In addition to saying that some of the institutions will be utilized as centers of excellence for the training of doctors and nurses, Dr. Tinkorang announced plans to educate young doctors as specialists to oversee some of the hospitals.
Strategies To Combat NCDs
Regarding strategies to combat NCDs, the Regional Director stated that the Directorate will increase public awareness campaigns and screening programs for conditions including cancer, high blood pressure, and diabetes, among others.
He said that in order to reduce the rising number of NCD cases being reported in various healthcare institutions, his organization will fortify its collaborations with the corporate sector.
The necessity for collaboration between the public and private sectors in the battle against NCDs was reemphasized by Dr. Beatrice Wiafe Addae, C.E.O of Breast Care International.
Globally, she claimed, cancer cases were increasing, and the COVID-19 pandemic made matters worse by preventing people from getting medicine, which raised the fatality rate.
Dr. Beatrice concluded by saying, “Most cancer patients are dying because they come too late to the hospital and that is why we must visit the communities, churches and other public places to screen them for the various NCDs so we can detect the diseases early for treatment.”