The District Directors of Health Services (DDHS) Group has called on the government to take full responsibility for the cost of transporting emergency cases by the National Ambulance Service, regardless of the distance.
The group has also advocated the acquisition of at least two aircraft ambulances to support urgent referrals, particularly from remote areas.
This was contained in a communiqué issued at the end of the 31st Annual General Conference of the DDHS Group at Ada in the Greater Accra Region
The communiqué, jointly signed by the National Chairman of the group, Dr Justice Thomas Sevugu, and the National Secretary, Martin Sumani Daanko, further called on the government to streamline and improve the efficiency of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) claims reimbursement process to ensure the financial stability of health facilities.
This year’s conference,on the theme: “Accelerating Towards Universal Health Coverage with a Strengthened Primary Health Through the Networks Approach: The Role of the DDHS and Stakeholders,” brought together DDHS members, Senior Managers of the Ghana Health Service and health partners to deliberate on critical health service delivery issues in Ghana.
The communiqué, among others, called on the Ghana Health Service to liaise with the Ministry of Works and Housing to address the accommodation challenges faced by health workers by constructing affordable housing units in critical areas.
They also urged the government to place District Directors of Health Services on all allowances due to Level 23H office holders in the public sector, ensuring fairness and equity in their remuneration.
Still on funding, the DDHS Group called on the government to restore the allocation of Government of Ghana funding and ensure its timely release to District/Municipal/Metropolitan Health Directorates to support their operations and public health activities at the Community-Based Health Planning and Services (CHPS) level.
They further urged the government to provide financial clearance for the recruitment of critical technical and support staff to strengthen the capacity of District/Municipal/Metropolitan Health Directorates.
Concerns and challenges
The DDHS Group identified a significant shortage of essential technical and support staff, including laboratory and pharmacy technicians, storekeepers, security personnel, orderlies and labourers, which they said hampered effective health service delivery.
Further, they bemoaned the inequitable distribution of health workers across districts, a situation affecting the quality of health services in underserved areas and reiterated the need for the government to address those challenges.
“Many health facilities are burdened with obsolete medical equipment and deteriorating infrastructure, compromising the quality of care provided to patients,” the communique said.
Accommodation
The communique noted that the lack of adequate accommodation for health workers, particularly in rural areas, continued to be a major challenge affecting staff retention and morale and highlighted the need for those challenges to be resolved.
The group highlighted the need for
increased funding to improve sanitation in health facilities,
particularly in managing medical waste.
They noted that
transportation of samples of suspected diseases to reference
laboratories for confirmatory tests was often delayed, affecting timely
diagnosis and treatment, therefore, urged the government to address the
concerns urgently.
It further requested that the government should grant tax waivers to DDHS members and health workers to facilitate the importation of vehicles which were often used to support healthcare.
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